Hurricane Helene was a really strong storm. This Category 4 hurricane hit Florida’s Big Bend area on Thursday night.
It was super destructive. In, it was the first-ever recorded Category 4 storm in that spot since they started keeping track of hurricanes back in 1851! Helene had winds reaching a scary 140 mph when it slammed down near Perry, Florida. That’s about 45 miles east-southeast of Tallahassee—yikes! This happened around 11:10 PM ET.
As the storm got stronger while passing through the Gulf of Mexico, many places began shutting down. Schools, airports, & big highways closed up as local leaders prepared for what was coming. More than 70,000 folks in Franklin, Taylor, Liberty, and Wakulla counties had to evacuate—everyone was urged to leave quickly! Wakulla County Sheriff Jared Miller said this storm could be “unsurvivable” for people living near the coast or in low-lying spots, stressing that nothing like this had ever occurred there before.
Helene is expected to swing northwest and slow down over the Tennessee Valley during Friday and Saturday. To help out during this tough time, President Joe Biden approved emergency declarations for five states: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina & Alabama. These declarations will help send federal emergency resources to those areas. Some meteorologists are even calling it a “once-in-a-generation” hurricane! Dan DePodwin from AccuWeather warned that Helene could create really dangerous conditions in western parts of South Carolina, North Carolina, & northern and eastern Georgia.
As of Thursday night, Hurricane Helene had already knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of people. More than 800,000 customers in Florida and Georgia were without electricity! The National Hurricane Center put out warnings about dangerous storm surges—some areas might see water rise as high as 20 feet. They called these surges “unsurvivable.” That wall of water is likely to flood neighborhoods along Florida’s west coast and create quite a mess. Officials also told people to stay put—conditions were too risky to go outside.
The storm’s effects reached far and wide across the southeast U.S. Airports in Florida stopped flights, & roads were jammed with everyone trying to flee. Coastal cities like Tampa & Tallahassee looked almost empty as folks took precautions and stayed inside. The size of Helene is huge—over 400 miles across—which means millions will feel its impact as it moves inland with heavy rain, flooding & strong winds.
As days go by, officials expect to learn just how much damage this storm caused. Early reports show fallen trees and power lines along with serious damage to homes & businesses along the coast
People will surely remember Hurricane Helene as one of Florida’s most destructive storms ever. While emergency teams keep working hard to help everyone affected by the storm, officials are encouraging those in its path to stay safe indoors and follow any local instructions.
ㅤ
