Huge Hurricane Helene expected to hit Florida, strike far inland

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — An enormous Hurricane Helene swamped parts of Mexico on Wednesday as it churned on a path forecasters said would take it to Florida as a potentially catastrophic storm with a surge that could swallow entire homes, a chilling warning that sent residents scrambling for higher ground, closed schools, and led to states of emergency throughout the Southeast.

Landfall was expected sometime Thursday evening, and the hurricane center said by then it could be a major Category 4 storm with winds above 129 mph.

Tropical storm conditions were expected in southern Florida Wednesday night, spreading northward and encompassing the rest of Florida as well as Georgia and South Carolina through Thursday night. The storm was moving north at 12 mph with top sustained winds of 85 mph Wednesday evening.

Helene could create a life-threatening storm surge as high as 20 feet in parts of the Big Bend region, forecasters said. Its tropical storm-force winds extended as far as 345 miles from its center.

The fast-moving storm’s wind and rain also could penetrate far inland: The hurricane center posted hurricane warnings well into Georgia and tropical storm warnings as far north as North Carolina, and it warned that much of the Southeast could experience prolonged power outages, toppled trees and dangerous flooding.

The National Weather Service says rain associated with remnants of the storm will move into the Mid-South area beginning Thursday and stick around through the weekend.

For areas mostly north of the Tennessee-Mississippi state line, they say there is a greater than 50% chance for two inches or more of rain by Sunday.

Helene is forecast to be one of the largest storms in breadth in years to hit the region, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. He said since 1988, only three Gulf hurricanes were bigger than Helene’s predicted size: 2017’s Irma, 2005’s Wilma and 1995’s Opal.

Areas 100 miles north of the Georgia-Florida line can expect hurricane conditions. More than half of Georgia’s public school districts and several universities canceled classes.

And for Atlanta, which is under a tropical storm watch, Helene could be the worst strike on a major Southern inland city in 35 years, said University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd.

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