Hurricane Helene upgraded to Category 2, expected to strengthen before Florida landfall

Hurricane Helene was upgraded to a Category 2 storm Thursday and expected to grow even stronger before making landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region on Thursday evening.

Nearly 300 miles of the Florida coastline — from Mexico Beach in the Panhandle to the Anclote River just north of Tampa — was under a hurricane warning.

“A catastrophic and deadly storm surge is likely along portions of the Florida Big Bend coast, where inundation could reach as high as 20 feet above ground level, along with destructive waves,” forecasters at the National Hurricane Center warned.

Helene, already packing 105 mph winds on Thursday morning, was predicted to at least reach Category 3 status as it stormed through the northeastern Gulf of Mexico during the day. Some models predicted a Category 4 storm at landfall, according to the NHC.

Additionally, Helene grew to massive size, with hurricane-force winds stretching 60 miles from the center, according to meteorologists. Tropical storm-force winds extended 345 miles from the eye, and some were being felt in parts of Florida on Thursday morning.

Helene will be one of the widest storms to ever strike the region, Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach said. Only Irma in 2017, Wilma in 2005 and Opal in 1995 were larger than its predicted size.

Additionally, because the storm was expected to pick up speed as it approached land, forecasters predicted hurricane-force winds would extend much farther inland than usual.

“Damaging and life-threatening hurricane-force winds, especially in gusts, will penetrate well inland over portions of northern Florida and southern Georgia later today and tonight,” the NHC warned.

Governors in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia all declared states of emergency. Though Helene was expected to roar ashore at high speeds, the storm was also predicted to move northwest and stall over the Tennessee Valley after arriving inland. Locations across the South were expected to see 6-12 inches of rain, with local maximums as high as 20 inches.

Helene will be the strongest storm to make landfall in the U.S. so far in 2024, topping Hurricane Francine, which made landfall in Louisiana on Sept. 11.

“Regardless of how strong it is, it is a very large storm,” National Hurricane Center meteorologist Jack Beven said. “It’s going to have impacts that cover a large area.”

Wire services contributed to this report.