Tropical Storm Helene will become a hurricane, gaining steam in the Gulf by Reuters

By Rich McKay and Brendan O’Brien

(Reuters) – Tropical Storm Helene vowed to become a hurricane on Wednesday as it rapidly intensified in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, threatening to bring a life-threatening storm surge to Florida over the next two days.

More than 40 million people in Florida, Georgia and Alabama were under hurricane and tropical storm warnings as Helene moved northwest off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, the National Weather Service said Wednesday.

Numerous evacuations are being ordered alone along Florida’s Gulf Coast, including Sarasota and Charlotte counties, and dozens of counties have announced school closures, including Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

Pinellas County officials ordered the evacuation of long-term health care facilities, including nursing homes, assisted living facilities and hospitals along the coast. The county sits on a peninsula surrounded by Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

“Now, you still have time to prepare, review your hurricane plan and make sure you execute your hurricane preparedness plan,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a press briefing Tuesday.

Helene had sustained winds of 70 mph (160 km/h), just outside of hurricane force. Helene was forecast to become a hurricane later Wednesday as it travels over warm Gulf waters, the center said.

“The storm is forecast to strengthen rapidly over the eastern Gulf of Mexico and become a major hurricane on Thursday,” the center said.

It was forecast to become a Category 3 storm before making landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region south of Tallahassee on Thursday, forecasters said.

A major hurricane is a Category 3, 4, or 5 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale and is capable of causing devastating or even catastrophic damage.

The storm was expected to produce life-threatening storm surges of 15 feet (4.6 m). It was also expected to dump up to 15 inches (38.1 cm) of rain in some isolated places in the region, causing significant flash and urban flooding, the National Hurricane Center said.

Residents in the potential path are being told to prepare to be without power for up to a week, Florida emergency officials said in a briefing.