The governors of North Carolina and South Carolina declared states of emergency, and the Tampa International Airport announced it was suspending operations ahead of Helene's arrival.
Helene strengthened into a hurricane on Wednesday as forecasters warned it could become a major Category 3 or 4 storm before it makes landfall along Florida's Gulf Coast late Thursday.
The storm is expected to bring "life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds and flooding rains" to a large portion of Florida and the Southeast, the National Hurricane Center warned.
The governors of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina declared states of emergency ahead of Helene's arrival. The Tampa International Airport announced that it will suspend operations on Thursday.
Multiple counties in Florida issued mandatory evacuation orders for people in low-lying areas. Residents in the storm's potential path have been told to prepare for up to a week without electricity.
"It's a big, big storm," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a press briefing Wednesday. "Many people will lose power ... be prepared for that."
According to the National Hurricane Center's latest advisory, Helene — with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph — is located about 110 miles north-northeast of Cozumel, Mexico, and 480 miles south-southwest of Tampa, Fla., and is moving north-northwest at 10 mph.
The storm is expected to rapidly intensify and come ashore along the Gulf Coast of Florida as a Category 3 or 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds exceeding 111 miles per hour.
"Damaging hurricane-force winds are expected along portions of the coast of the Florida Big Bend, where a Hurricane Warning is now in effect," the hurricane center said. "Preparations to protect life and property should be complete by early Thursday."
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