Urgent warning as strongest hurricane of the season takes aim at Florida

Florida residents person been urged to implicit their preparations for Hurricane Helene by Wednesday night arsenic the large tempest is expected to marque landfall Thursday. 

Those successful the Florida Panhandle, the Big Bend region, and the cardinal and eastbound Gulf seashore person been advised to banal up connected groceries, gas, batteries, and more. 

The tempest - forecast to go a Category 3 hurricane erstwhile it makes landfall, perchance successful the Big Bend country - is expected to beryllium the strongest of the play with imaginable flooding, destructive winds and a life-threatening tempest surge, according to AccuWeather. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a State of Emergency successful 41 counties connected Monday. By Tuesday, helium expanded the enforcement bid to 61 of the state's 67 counties. 

DeSantis told residents that determination is inactive clip to prepare, arsenic meteorologists person warned that citizens person a small much than 24 hours to hunker down.  

'You person clip to beryllium capable to enactment this program into place,' DeSantis said Tuesday.

Once known arsenic Tropical Cyclone Nine, Hurricane Helene and is expected to attack the Gulf states starting Wednesday, The Floridian reported. 

The storm, which was located implicit the Caribbean Sea aboriginal Tuesday, had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, USA Today reported. 

It is expected to scope upwind speeds of 115mph by Thursday, portion bringing astir 10 inches of rainfall to parts of the Sunshine State. 

Strong winds and pouring rainfall are expected to scope Georgia, the Carolinas and the Tennessee Valley. 

'Know that this happening is here, cognize that we could person wide impacts,' DeSantis said. 

Residents were seen shoveling soil into bags and loading them into cars to hole for imaginable flooding. 

The politician said 18,000 linemen, 3,000 National Guardsmen, the State Guard, and Starlinks - net satellites for erstwhile powerfulness goes retired - are prepared for the storm. 

'We've been fortunate successful Florida wherever we person a civilization present wherever we privation to get the powerfulness backmost on,' helium said. 

DeSantis besides said 150,000 flood power devices are disposable if needed. 

'The operation of heavy lukewarm h2o (ocean vigor content) and debased disruptive breezes (wind shear), should assistance successful accelerated strengthening erstwhile Helene moves implicit the Gulf of Mexico from Wednesday to Thursday,' AccuWeather Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said. 

Thunderstorms and showers  rocked the occidental Caribbean implicit the weekend, with mudslides and flash flooding expected  successful areas astir the occidental Caribbean, Cuba, southeastern Mexico, Honduras and Belize, AccuWeather reported. 

Although Hurricane Helene is presently projected to beryllium a Category 3 storm, according to AccuWeather, it could rapidly alteration into a Category 4 portion implicit the Gulf of Mexico. 

Powerful and damaging winds are anticipated to scope into the northeast halfway of the storm, hitting Georgia and South Carolina. 

Power outages are expected northbound and eastbound of wherever the oculus of the tempest makes landfall. 

Torrential rainfall is besides anticipated successful Tennessee, the mid-Mississippi valleys, Missouri's Ozark Mountains, Arkansas and little Ohio aboriginal connected this week. 

In August, Tropical Storm Debby brought severe flooding to Florida earlier making landfall. 

The tempest brought astatine slightest 2 feet of tempest surge to southwest cities similar Fort Myers, arsenic photos showed cars wholly underwater. 

Huge torrents of rainfall caused important harm and killed astatine slightest 5 people, 2 of whom were children. 

As the tempest moved past Florida, much than 130,000 customers were near without power. 

In Georgia, much than 28,000 radical mislaid powerfulness arsenic winds and rainfall intensified.