Hurricane Helen is strengthening as it moves toward the US Gulf Coast.
The Category 1 storm is expected to rapidly strengthen into a dangerous Category 4 hurricane by the time it makes landfall in Florida on Thursday night, with forecasters warning it could bring “life-threatening” storm surge, strong winds and flooding to much of Florida and the southeastern United States.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Helen was expected to continue moving north up the Gulf of Mexico and make landfall in Florida on Thursday evening local time.
The governors of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia declared states of emergency ahead of the storm’s landfall.
The storm’s maximum sustained winds increased to 85 miles per hour (140 kilometers per hour), according to NHC data.
Helene was moving northward across the Gulf of Mexico at 12 mph (19 kph) by Thursday night, the NHC said in an update.
The NHC warned that Helene was turning into a “major” storm and could reach Category 4 status by the time it reaches Florida.
The mayor of Tallahassee, Florida, warned residents to prepare during a press conference Thursday.
“There is no time to wait any longer. Today is the day. I urge everyone to exercise extreme weather caution as a historic event approaches,” Mayor John Daly said.
In Georgia, all Atlanta public schools will be closed on Thursday and Friday because of the storm, which is also affecting the White House race, with Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance canceling two events scheduled in Georgia on Thursday.
The NHC said the storm could cause “potentially catastrophic and life-threatening flash flooding and urban flooding” across the southeastern US.
The storm is expected to dump 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain on parts of Cuba and the Cayman Islands before reaching the United States.
In Mexico, the popular resort towns of Cancun and Cozumel were hit by heavy storms early Wednesday local time.
Flooding was reported in some areas.
Red flags were raised on Cancun’s beaches as early as Tuesday warning beachgoers not to go into the water, and fishermen rushed to pull their boats from the water.
Local businesses boarded up their windows as heavy rain began to fall and strong winds blew.
Once Helene reaches the southeastern U.S., “rainfall totals of 5 to 10 inches (12.7 to 25.4 centimeters) are expected,” the NHC said.
Flood watches have been issued from Florida to the southern Appalachians, with the hardest hit areas expected to be in the Big Bend region of Florida.
Big Bend was the site of Hurricane Idalia’s landfall in 2023 and was also impacted by Hurricane Debby last month.
The Florida Department of Emergency Management released a list of counties where voluntary or mandatory evacuation orders were in place before Helene.