Helene weakens to tropical storm after at least three deaths in Florida and Georgia – live updates | Hurricane Helene

In a 4 a.m. update, the National Hurricane Center said, “Helene continues to move inland over central Georgia, producing hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall.”

“This is a dangerous and life-threatening situation,” the center said.

“A University of Georgia weather station in Vidalia, Georgia, recently reported a wind gust of 77 mph (124 km/h). An ASOS station at Savannah International Airport in Georgia recently reported sustained winds of 49 mph (79 km/h) with a gust of 76 mph (122 km/h),” it said.

Joe Biden said he was “following Hurricane Helene closely.”

“I urge everyone in and near Helene’s path to listen to local officials and heed evacuation warnings,” he said.

Hurricane-force winds continue to push into Georgia

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What is a storm surge and what danger does Hurricane Helene pose?

Hurricane Helene is the strongest storm to hit the US mainland since then Idaliathat sped into Florida from Keaton Beach on August 30 last year.

Similar in strength and location to Helene at landfall, Idalia followed a nearly identical path through the Gulf of Mexico en route to becoming the third strongest cyclone to hit Florida’s Big Bend.

Its strength was such that Florida’s famous flamingos were spotted as far away as Ohio and Pennsylvania after the storm. Idalia was blamed for 12 U.S. deaths and caused an estimated $3.6 billion in damage. Officials fear Helene’s fatality could be much worse.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), these are the five costliest hurricanes in the United States: 1, 2005 Katrina ($200 billion in damages; 1,200 deaths); 2, Harvey 2017 ($160 billion; 107); 3, January 2022 ($118.5 billion; 161); 4, Maria 2017 ($115.2 billion; 3,059); 5, Sandy 2012 ($88.5 billion; 233).

NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), orbiting 260 miles above Earth, captured this video of Hurricane Helene in 2019 Gulf of Mexico on Thursday.

The footage shows the storm, which had winds of 100 miles per hour at the time, increasing in size and intensity in the hours immediately before landfall.

ISS and satellite images from space have proven invaluable after previous hurricanes, helping officials assess the extent of damage and plan recovery and recovery efforts.

Helene may not be the strongest hurricane to devastate the United States, but it is certainly one of the largest.

According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), it is larger than 90% of all other tropical cyclones that have formed in the Atlantic or Caribbean in the past 20 years, with a wind field nearly 500 miles wide. According to CNN, that’s the same distance from Indianapolis to Washington DC or from London to Glasgow.

This means areas far inland that normally escape the devastation of even the strongest storms will be affected this time. In a lunchtime advisory Thursday, the NHC’s senior hurricane specialist said John Cangialosi said strong gusts are expected in northern Georgia, the Carolinas and southern Appalachia:

Helene is a very large hurricane. When comparing the system to previous hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico in recent decades, Helene is actually at the upper limit in terms of size.

As a result, storm surge, wind and precipitation impacts will extend well from the center and well beyond the forecast cone, particularly on the eastern side.

By Thursday evening, the entire state was Florida was under storm watch or warnings and was governor Ron DeSantis had declared a state of emergency in 61 of 67 counties.

North Carolinagovernor Roy Cooper warned of “significant flash floods, landslides, damaging debris flows, slope failures in steep terrain and river flooding” in his state.

“Even areas that don’t normally experience flooding can experience flooding,” he said.

At least three dead as Hurricane Helene makes landfall