Helene continues to strengthen; will become a hurricane today

Tropical Storm Helene continues to strengthen as it moves toward the Gulf of Mexico. It’s expected to become a hurricane soon.

Helene formed in the northwestern Caribbean Sea on Tuesday, Sept. 24. It’s the eighth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. 

Helene is moving northwest into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico with max winds of 70 mph. It will continue to strengthen as it turns north-northeast.

Conditions are favorable for intensification in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, with warm water and low wind shear in place. It should allow Helene to quickly strengthen, becoming a hurricane sometime today.

It’s possible that Helene could undergo rapid intensification in the eastern Gulf, making landfall as a major hurricane in the Big Bend.

The latest forecast has Helene moving inland Thursday evening or night in the Florida Panhandle.

The risk of life-threatening storm surge and hurricane-force winds begins tonight through Thursday along portions of the Gulf Coast, especially the Florida Panhandle and Florida’s west coast.

Tropical Storm and Hurricane Warnings are in effect across Florida and the Southeast.

Along with hurricane-force winds, dangerous storm surge is expected and Storm Surge Warnings have been issued along Florida’s Gulf Coast. Storm surge will be highest in the Big Bend and Nature Coast area, with inundation up to 12 to 15 feet above ground level.

There is still uncertainty in the specific track and intensity of the storm, but most models are consistent with the storm moving north across the eastern Gulf, making landfall somewhere around Florida’s Big Bend.

Here’s a look at the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season so far.

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