As Floridians in the state’s Big Bend braced Thursday evening for the arrival Hurricane Helene, the storm strengthened to a category 4 major hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.
In the run-up to landfall, the National Hurricane Center stated in a 7:06 p.m. eastern time update: “Sustained tropical-storm-force winds are being reported along the west coast of Florida, with wind gusts near hurricane-force. Tropical storm conditions are approaching the coastline of Florida’s Big Bend.”
The New York Times notes that Helene is packing sustained maximum wind speeds of 130 mph as it heads toward the shore, and is bringing with it a “two-story-high wall of water.”
The National Hurricane Center predicts storm surge of between 10 and 20 feet in parts of the Big Bend “if peak surge occurs at high tide,” with the areas on either side seeing anything from 3 to 12…
