Manatee County orders evacuation for Level A, recommendation for Level B

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Manatee County officials ordered a mandatory evacuation for Level A and voluntary evacuations for Level B ahead of impacts from Tropical Storm Helene.

The mandatory evacuation goes into effect at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.

Public Safety Director Jodie Fiske said anyone else in low lying areas who feels the need to evacuate should do so.

For more information on evacuations and shelters, visit mymanatee.org/storm .

Tropical Storm Helene formed Tuesday morning in the Caribbean and is expected to strengthen into a hurricane once it enters the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday.

Helene is forecast to become a major hurricane ahead of making landfall somewhere along the Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday.

As of the National Hurricane Center’s 5 p.m. update, Helene is located about 155 miles east-southeast of Cozumel, Mexico and about 150 miles south of the western tip of Cuba. Helene has sustained winds of 50 mph.

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