Hurricane Helene accelerates toward Florida’s Big Bend threatening ‘unsurvivable’ storm surge: Live

https://x.com/CIRA_CSU/status/1839370438985855326

Hurricane Helene is accelerating toward Florida’s Big Bend, where it is expected to make landfall later this evening.

The category 3 storm is bringing tropical storm conditions across most of the state’s western coast.

Winds at the entrance to Tampa Bay have been picking up, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The National Hurricane Center said its Air Force hurricane hunters have found Helene to be a “dangerous” major hurricane on Thursday afternoon.

The system has strengthened into a Category 3 storm, with maximum sustained winds increasing to 120mph.

The National Weather Service in Miami said Hurricane Helene has made its closest passage to South Florida.

Now, it’s is lifting further north in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

“Expect a few more hours of strong wind gusts, intermittent downpours, as well as hazardous coastal and marine conditions,” the agency said.

Additional strengthening is expected before Helene makes landfall in the Florida Big Bend.

The move allows the state’s emergency agencies to pull together resources in the event of catastrophic damage.

The move allows the state’s Emergency Management Division to posture personnel and resources for quick response to any emergency that may develop.

Governor Jim Justice issued a state of preparedness on Thursday for 22 West Virginia counties. 

They are: Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Clay, Fayette, Greenbrier, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Putnam, Raleigh, Randolph, Summers, Wayne, Webster and Wyoming.

Florida’s Walt Disney World cancelled some experiences in response to Hurricane Helene.

Its Typhoon Lagoon water park was temporarily closed and Beachcomber Shack and Typhoon Lagoon Umbrella rentals were cancelled.

A Halloween-themed even, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, was cancelled. Guests would be refunded for that event.

Mini golf courses at Fantasia Garden and Fairways and Winter Summerland were also temporarily closed.

Surfers took to the beach in Panama City ahead of Hurricane Helene on Thursday afternoon.

Officials in the rural Taylor County, along Florida’s Big Bend region, are telling their residents to write identifying information on their bodies in permanent marker before the storm hits.

“If you or someone you know chose not to evacuate, PLEASE write your, Name, birthday and important information on your arm or leg in A PERMANENT MARKER so that you can be identified and family notified,” the office wrote on Facebook.

The sheriff’s office asked residents to email them other vital information, including the location of their home and the number of people and animals who live there.

The southern Appalachians are expected to see strong, damaging winds and rainfall of up to a foot, with some isolated amounts of 20 inches.

“This rainfall will likely result in catastrophic and potentially life-threatening flash and urban flooding, along with significant river flooding. Numerous significant landslides are expected in steep terrain across the southern Appalachians,” the National Hurricane Center warned.

The National Weather Service’s office in South Carolina’s Greenville-Spartanburg warned of “one of the most significant weather events to happen in the western portions of the area in the modern era.”

“Record flooding is forecasted and has been compared to the floods of 1916 in the Asheville area,” it said.