Helene’s winds lash Florida as a Category 3 storm barrels toward the coast

CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Helene strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane hours before it was expected to make landfall on Florida’s northwest coast Thursday evening, and forecasters warned that the massive storm could create a “nightmare” in coastal areas and bring damaging winds Rain across much of the southeastern United States

Category 4 hurricanes produce sustained winds in excess of 125 mph (209 km/h) that can severely damage homes, snap trees and destroy power lines. Strong winds in Florida have already knocked out power to over 250,000 homes and businesses, according to tracking site poweroutage.us.

According to the US National Hurricane Center, the hurricane was located about 120 miles (195 kilometers) west of Tampa and had sustained winds of 130 mph (215 km/h). Life-threatening storm surges of up to 6 meters were expected in the Big Bend area of ​​Florida.

Hurricane and flash flood warnings extended well beyond the coast into northern Georgia and western North Carolina. The governors of Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia have all declared states of emergency in their states.

Helene It’s barely been a year since Idalia crashed into Florida’s Big Bend, causing extensive damage. Idalia became a Category 4 in the Gulf of Mexico, but made landfall near Keaton Beach as a Category 3 with maximum sustained winds of about 125 miles per hour (205 km/h).

The force of the storm was felt Thursday afternoon as water washed over a road on the northern tip of Siesta Key near Sarasota and covered some intersections in St. Pete Beach on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Wood and other debris from a fire in Cedar Key a week ago fell ashore in rising waters. And winds of up to 125 mph (205 km/h) have already left about 180,000 homes and businesses in Florida without power.

Outside Florida, up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain has fallen in the mountains of North Carolina, and up to 14 (36 centimeters) more is possible before the flooding ends, setting the stage for flooding that forecasters have warned that they could be worse than anything seen so far in the last century.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday morning that models suggest Helene will make landfall farther east than previously forecast, reducing the chance of a direct hit on the capital, Tallahassee, whose metropolitan area has a population of about 395,000.

The shift puts the storm directly at the sparsely populated Big Bend area, home to fishing villages and resort towns where Florida’s panhandle and peninsula meet.

“Please write your name, birthday and important information on your arm or leg with a permanent marker so you can be identified and your family notified,” the sheriff’s office in predominantly rural Taylor County warned those refusing to evacuate decided in a Facebook post postthe dire advice similar to that given by other officials during previous hurricanes.

Still, Philip Tooke, a commercial fisherman who took over the business his father founded near the region’s Apalachee Bay, plans to weather this storm as he did back then Hurricane Michael and the others – on his boat. “If I lose this, I have nothing.”

However, many adhered to their duty Evacuation orders which extended from the Panhandle south along the Gulf Coast in low-lying areas around Tallahassee, Gainesville, Cedar Key, Lake City, Tampa and Sarasota.

Among them was Sharonda Davis, one of several who had gathered at a Tallahassee shelter fearing their mobile homes would not be able to withstand the wind. She said the size of the hurricane was “more frightening than anything else because it’s the consequences that we’re facing.”

Federal authorities deployed search and rescue teams, the National Weather Service office in Tallahassee predicted Storm surges of up to 20 feet (6 meters) and warned that they could be particularly “catastrophic and unsurvivable” in Apalachee Bay.

“Please, please, please take all evacuation orders seriously!” The office said the surge scenario was “a nightmare.”

Known as the “Forgotten Coast,” this stretch of Florida has been largely spared from the widespread condominium development and commercialization that dominates so many Florida beach communities. The region is known for its natural wonders – extensive salt marshes, tide pools and barrier islands.

“If you live down here, you’re at risk of losing everything in a bad storm,” said 20-year-old Anthony Godwin, who lives about a half-mile from the water in the coastal town of Panacea, as he stopped to refuel before heading west toward the house drove to his sister in Pensacola.

Along Florida’s Gulf Coast, school districts and several universities have canceled classes. Airports in Tampa, Tallahassee and Clearwater were closed Thursday, while cancellations were common elsewhere in the state and beyond.

While Helene is likely to weaken as it moves inland, damaging winds and heavy rains are expected to spread into the southern Appalachians, where landslides are possible, forecasters said. The center warned that there could be extended power outages and flooding across much of the region. Tennessee was among the states where flooding was expected.

Helene flooded parts of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Wednesday, inundating roads and toppling trees as it passed the coast and hit the resort town of Cancun. In western Cuba, Helene knocked out power to more than 200,000 households and businesses as she flew past the island.

Helene is expected to be one of the region’s largest storms in years, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. He said since 1988, only three Gulf hurricanes have been larger than Helene predicted: Irma in 2017, Wilma in 2005 and Opal in 1995.

Hurricane conditions are expected in areas 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of the Georgia-Florida line. More than half of Georgia’s public school districts and several universities have canceled classes. The state has opened its parks to evacuees and their pets, including horses. And nighttime curfews have been imposed in many cities and counties in south Georgia, including Albany, Valdosta and Thomasville.

“This is one of the biggest storms we have ever had,” said Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who has authorized up to 500 National Guard troops.

For Atlanta, Helene could be the worst impact in a major southern city in 35 years, said Marshall Shepherd, a meteorology professor at the University of Georgia.

Helene is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year because of the record warm sea temperatures.

Further storm activity saw Tropical Storm Isaac form in the Atlantic on Wednesday and could strengthen as it moves eastward over the open ocean, potentially becoming a hurricane by the end of the week, forecasters said. Officials said the waves and winds could affect parts of Bermuda and eventually the Azores through the weekend.

In the Pacific, former Hurricane John The storm strengthened into a tropical storm on Wednesday and re-intensified into a hurricane on Thursday morning as it threatened areas on Mexico’s west coast with flash floods and mudslides. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador raised John’s death toll to five on Thursday as communities along the country’s Pacific coast prepared for the storm to make landfall a second time.

___

Hollingsworth reported from Kansas City, Missouri. Associated Press journalists Seth Borenstein in New York; Jeff Amy in Atlanta; Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Andrea Rodríguez in Havana; Mark Stevenson and María Verza in Mexico City; and Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report.