Storm Helene to hit Florida by tomorrow: Thousands evacuate

FLORIDA: Thousands of Florida residents have been forced to evacuate as the state prepares for rapidly strengthening Tropical Storm Helene, which could bring powerful winds, flooding and life-threatening storm surge to areas already hard-hit by recent hurricanes.

Helene is on track to make landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast – possibly in the Big Bend region – late Thursday and threatens to become the strongest storm to hit the United States in over a year, reported CNN.

Expected to become a hurricane on Wednesday, Helene would be the fourth hurricane to make landfall in the US this year and the fifth to slam Florida since 2022.

Israel intercepts missile aimed at Tel Aviv

The storm, which formed in the northwestern Caribbean Sea Tuesday morning, is strengthening at a breakneck pace. It could take Helene just 48 hours to go from a 45 mph tropical storm to a Category 3 major hurricane as it rapidly intensifies over the extremely warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

As of 11 p.m. ET, Helene’s maximum sustained winds had increased to 60 mph with higher gusts, the center said.

A flood watch has been issued for more than 20 million people from Florida through the southern Appalachians.