ORLANDO – Helene has been upgraded to a Category 4 hurricane as it approaches Florida. It is predicted to make landfall on Thursday evening.
Update: Live coverage from Orlando: Helene makes landfall in Big Bend area with Category 4 hurricane
Watch NBC News’ live coverage below:
The National Hurricane Center announced at 6:20 p.m. Thursday that Helene’s maximum sustained winds have increased to near 130 mph, pushing the storm into the Category 4 range.
CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE: Hurricane Hunter Aircraft finds that #Hurricane #Helene is even stronger as I was thinking this afternoon. As of 6:20 PM Thursday, Helene is a Category 4 Hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 MPH. Movement has picked up, moving North-Northeast at 23… pic.twitter.com/rKZZ3zZJZy
— Bryan Schuerman, M.A., M.Ed. (@BSchuermanWX) September 26, 2024
Helene is expected to continue strengthening before it makes landfall.
The hurricane is moving across the Gulf of Mexico, and experts said there could be a “catastrophic” storm surge in the northwestern parts of Florida.
Damaging winds, rain, and flash floods are possible hundreds of miles inland.
HELENE WIND GUSTS: Our in-house model for wind gusts shows the center of #Helene making landfall between 9:00 PM-12:00 AM tonight between Tallahassee & Perry, FL in the Big Bend. Strong wind gusts extend into Georgia and Carolina tonight/tomorrow, then into the Ohio Valley into… pic.twitter.com/1IIKNBuYDa
— Bryan Schuerman, M.A., M.Ed. (@BSchuermanWX) September 26, 2024