Will Hurricane Helene hit Alabama? Track projected path of storm as Gulf Coast braces

Hurricane Helene continues to strengthen and is expected to make landfall in the Florida Big Bend Thursday night as a major hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said Thursday.

As of the 11 a.m. ET advisory from the NHC, the storm was located about 255 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida with maximum sustained winds near 105 mph. The storm is currently moving north-northeast at near 14 mph, the NHC said.

The storm is expected to have a "significant increase in forward speed" during the next 24 hours, and after landfall, is expected to turn northwestward and slow down over the Tennessee Valley on Friday and Saturday.

The storm will bring marine and coastal impacts to Alabama through Thursday, including "dangerously high surf, potentially minor coastal flooding, and deadly rip currents," in addition to strong winds and high waves, the National Weather Service in Mobile said Thursday morning.

"We will be monitoring for the potential of heavy rainfall that could impact portions of south central Alabama and the western Florida panhandle," NWS forecasters said in a forecast Thursday. "Gusty northerly winds may also impact mainly south central Alabama, the western Florida panhandle and coastal areas Thursday given the large wind field associated with the system."

The NWS also said it is watching for the potential of minor coastal flooding, especially by Thursday night.

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Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center uses only the top four or five highest performing models to help make its forecasts.

Hurricane Helene livestream

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will Hurricane Helene hit Alabama? Track projected path of storm as Gulf Coast braces