There is a ton of information on what to expect with Helene here and on the coast. Please take a moment to read so you’ll be updated.
The brand new 4pm update has been issued by the National Hurricane Center on Tropical Storm Helene. There has been NO change in the path and landfall intensity. As of the 4pm update, winds have increased to 50mph.
Landfall Thursday evening along the big bend region of Florida, to the east of Apalachicola as a major, category 3 hurricane. The large size of the storm means there will be a larger area impacted as the storm tracks towards the Gulf coast.
A tropical storm warning has been issued for the Panama City area, where tropical storm winds will be possible on Thursday and Thursday night. A hurricane Warning has been issued for Mexico Beach and points east around the big bend. There are no watches are warnings for the Destin area and west to the Alabama Gulf Coast.
For the Destin area, west to the Alabama Gulf Coast, expect rain at times on Wednesday and Thursday. A breezy offshore wind will gust to 30mph at times on Thursday and Thursday night. Large surf and rip currents will be likely Wednesday and Thursday, but storm surge is not expected along this area.
The main issues of a storm surge will occur near and east of Apalachicola, where a storm surge of 10ft to 15ft will be possible. This will be a very significant impact to the coastline of Florida, especially north of Tampa. Tropical storm warnings include Tampa and points south along the Gulf side of the Florida Peninsula.
For west Alabama, periods of rain can be expected tonight, on Wednesday and on Thursday. While rain may not be continuous, you can expect periods of rain across the entire area. Wind will not be a big impact for our area, as only a breeze up to 25mph will be possible on Thursday and Thursday night. Rain amounts of 1″ to 3″ will be likely for the western side of Alabama…