Of all the storms to hit the United States in recent years, Hurricane Helene is causing “tremendous” concern among experts.
The storm was upgraded to a Category One hurricane at the last minute today, meaning officials are working hard to implement safety measures and evacuation orders.
Residents only received a little more than a day’s notice of the hurricane, but the National Hurricane Center (NHC) typically issues a 36-hour warning to give people enough time to prepare for the storm.
“The amount of damage will be enormous,” Professor Pam Knox of the University of Georgia told DailyMail.com.
The hurricane is expected to hit the west coast of Florida between 6 and 10 p.m. ET Thursday, with winds reaching speeds of up to 125 miles per hour.
That’s nearly twice as strong as the winds felt by Hurricane Debby last month, causing an estimated $28 billion in damage and economic losses.
Hurricane Helene will stretch as far inland as Atlanta before traveling up the East Coast to North Carolina and South Carolina, which has not been hit by a major hurricane in nearly three decades.
Tropical Storm Helene strengthened into a hurricane on Wednesday, a day before it is expected to make landfall in Florida.
“The storm is rapidly intensifying and also moving quickly, so the strong winds around the storm will affect a larger area than usual,” Knox said.
‘It’s also a very large storm, so its impacts will spread farther from the center than in more compact storms.
‘The impacts will affect many places like Atlanta that are not typically hit by such extreme winds and rains, so many people will not be prepared for it.’
A Category 4 or higher hurricane is certainly within the realm of possibility this week, meaning areas like Tallahassee, Florida, could look very different Friday morning.
There are already approximately 32 million people under flood watches spanning from South Florida to the south. Virginia.
Tropical winds are expected to reach more than 400 miles wide, twice the size of Hurricane Debby and Hurricane Idalia that hit the country in August of last year.
Hurricane Idalia was responsible for 12 deaths while Debby claimed the lives of 10 people.
Forecasters are concerned that people in affected regions, such as Atlanta and the Carolinas, may not be prepared for the storm because a Category 3 or higher hurricane has not hit the area in decades.
The main areas of concern will be Florida and Georgia, although states such as Alabama and Tennessee, which are not accustomed to these storms, will also be affected by strong winds. Flash floods and electricity power outages caused by fallen trees and power lines.
The severity of the hurricane could cause normally dry areas to experience flooding like never before, including the Ochlocknee River in southwest Georgia, which could experience a rise of up to 10 to 15 feet.
Heavy rains can overwhelm drainage and pumping systems, leaving water with nowhere to go and can leave people stranded for days and weeks until rescue personnel can reach the area.
“If you live along the coast, especially the Florida coast from Apalachicola to Tampa, the storm surge will be very high and many people will have to be evacuated before the water levels can rise 12 feet or even more,” Knox said.
Hurricane Helene is expected to cause flooding of up to 15 feet in some areas
The hurricane is strengthening as it moves past Mexico and toward the Gulf Coast and has already reached wind speeds of 80 miles per hour.
Forecasters have warned that the hurricane, fueled by record temperatures in the Gulf waters, could reach peak winds of 125 miles per hour when it makes landfall.
“Helene is now entering the Gulf of Mexico,” Knox said, “so there’s really nothing stopping it from getting stronger.”
Although hurricanes typically weaken after making landfall, forecasters warn that Helene could remain at hurricane status for 12 hours or more.
Experts have not commented on the specific amount of devastation that could accompany Hurricane Helene, but the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has confirmed that it could be “life-threatening.”
Two components are causing the hurricane to grow, including a change in wind speed or direction, called wind shear, which has decreased as the storm approaches the United States.
Wind shear will have the effect of blowing the top off a developing tropical cyclone, similar to a hat blowing off your head, preventing it from becoming a stronger storm.
However, if wind shear disappears or diminishes – as during Hurricane Helene – the storm can grow vertically, strengthening its circulation and giving it a broader reach.
Parts of Florida are already under evacuation orders as the storm could reach Category 4 strength.
The second factor is “record warm temperatures in the eastern Gulf of Mexico,” where the storm is expected to pass directly.
“Warm water acts as fuel for the storm, increasing its strength quickly. We call this ‘rapid intensification’ because the storm pressure can drop quickly and the wind speed around the center of the storm will increase in line with this,” Knox said.
The NHC is now urging people to prepare for the impending storm and several Florida counties have already been issued evacuation orders.
The NHC said Hurricane Helene will impact nearly the entire west coast of Florida over a 36-hour period and residents should prepare for strong winds and rain that will down trees and power lines causing power outages that could last for several days.
Florida Storm Chasers said in a mail in X that the latest Global High Resolution Atmospheric Forecast (GRAF) model “still suggests that Helene could explode to Category 4 before making landfall somewhere in Florida’s Big Bend.”
Forecasters warned that the hurricane is likely to down trees and power lines, causing widespread power outages across the west coast of Florida and Georgia.
Knox recommended that people invest in generators or batteries to provide temporary power while they wait for companies to fix broken lines.
People should prepare by making sure their gas tanks are full and their cell phones charged, and make sure they have enough water and nonperishable food to last at least a week after the storm.
“All loose objects in yards, such as chairs, tables and decorations, should be brought inside so they don’t become air missiles,” Knox said.
Josh Morgerman, a self-proclaimed hurricane hunter, aware about “ominous signals this morning” coming from Helene and warned that “a dangerous situation is developing.”
She warned Floridians not to make assumptions about Helene based on past experiences with Debby and Idalia, stating that “this one is likely to be much more severe” and cautioned people to “take it seriously.”