Hurricane Helene to hit Cuba, reach hurricane strength in Florida By Reuters

By Dave Sherwood

HAVANA (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Helene is expected to trigger mudslides and flooding in Cuba before reaching major hurricane strength on Thursday when it hits Florida with life-threatening ocean waves, the National Service said of Meteorology of the USA.

Residents along Florida’s west coast were told to expect damaging winds and storm surge, the weather service said Tuesday.

Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in most Florida counties. People in some areas of Florida were under mandatory evacuation orders Tuesday because of the expectation of coastal flooding.

Climate scientists say Florida’s annual hurricanes have become more frequent and more severe because of global warming.

The storm is expected to move north later in the week across parts of Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky, bringing isolated lightning and urban flooding, the weather service said.

On Monday, US oil producers scrambled to evacuate personnel from production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico as the storm approached.