Hurricane Helen continues to rapidly strengthen in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and is expected to reach Florida as a devastating Category 4 storm on Thursday.
The system is expected to reach hurricane status Wednesday with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph and strengthen to tailwinds of 190 to 125 mph upon landfall, according to the National Hurricane Center.
AccuWeather forecasters said landfall would most likely reach the eastern Florida Panhandle late Thursday, and possibly the Big Bend region, a bend in the Florida peninsula around the Gulf of Mexico. said. About 8 to 12 inches of rain is expected where Helen will make landfall, with some isolated areas potentially receiving up to 2 feet of rain.
Andy Hazelton, an associate scientist at the University of Miami’s Collaborative Institute for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Atlantic Marine and Meteorological Laboratory, said the storm remained over the open ocean off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Wednesday. , where the eyes could gather unobstructed.
“The stage is set for high-end strength results depending on construction,” Hazelton wrote in X.
More than 42 million people in Florida, Georgia and Alabama are under hurricane and tropical storm warnings, according to the National Weather Service.
See USA TODAY’s coverage of Hurricane Helen
View from St. George Island, Florida
View from Pelican Beach Resort, Destin, Florida
View from Perdido Key, Florida
Contributors: John Bacon, Cheryl McCloud, Jeff Burlew, Christopher Cann, Dinah Voyles Pulver, Jorge L. Ortiz