Helen was upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane

Crawfordville, Fla. (AP) – moving fast Hurricane Helen As the Gulf of Mexico moved toward Florida on Thursday, a “catastrophic” storm surge and tornado in northwestern parts of the state threatened winds, rain and flash flooding hundreds of miles inland across much of the southeastern United States, forecasters said.

Helen was upgraded to a Category 2 storm Thursday morning and is expected to become a major hurricane — a Category 3 or higher — when it makes landfall on Florida’s northwest coast Thursday evening. Tropical storm winds have already started hitting the state early. Tornado warnings and flash flood warnings extend up the coast into south-central Georgia. The governors of Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia have all declared states of emergency.

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday morning that models suggested Helen would make landfall further east, reducing the chances of a direct hit on the capital city of Tallahassee, whose metro population is about 395,000.

The storm is aimed squarely at the sparsely populated Big Bend region, where rain began lashing coastal U.S. Highway 98 Thursday morning through fishing villages and vacation retreats in this area where Florida’s Panhandle meets the peninsula. Closed gas stations lined the two-lane highway, their windows boarded up with plywood.

Compulsory eviction order The Panhandle extends south to the Gulf Coast in low-lying areas around Tallahassee, Gainesville, Cedar Key, Lake City, Tampa, and Sarasota.

Known as Florida’s Forgotten Coast, this area has largely been spared the rampant condo development and commercialization that dominates many of Florida’s beach communities. The sparsely populated area is loved for its natural wonders – salt marshes, tidal pools and barrier islands; the dwarf cypress trees of Tate’s Hell State Forest; and Wakulla Springs, considered one of the largest and deepest freshwater springs in the world.

Anthony Godwin, 20, found a gas station outside Crawfordville where tanks were still running to fill up Thursday morning.

“It’s part of life. You live here and you run the risk of losing everything to a bad storm,” said Godwin, who lives about half a mile (800 meters) from the water in the coastal town of Panacea. Hurricane Michael in 2018Godwin said water came up to the end of the driveway of his family’s home when the storm surge reached 12 feet (3.7 meters).

Along Florida’s Gulf Coast, school districts and several universities have canceled classes. Airports in Tampa, Tallahassee and Clearwater were closed Thursday, while cancellations were made elsewhere in the state and beyond.

Helen was about 255 miles (405 kilometers) southwest of Tampa on Thursday morning and was packing north-northeast winds of 14 mph (22 kph) with gusts up to 105 mph (165 kph). Forecasters expect it to become a Category 3 or higher hurricane, with sustained winds of 110 mph (177 kph).

While Helene may weaken as it moves inland, its “fast forward speed will allow strong, damaging winds to move inland, particularly across the southeastern United States, including the southern Appalachian Mountains,” the hurricane center said. The center issued fewer tropical storm warnings as far north as North Carolina, and warned that much of the region could experience extended power outages, downed trees and dangerous flooding.

Helene swamped parts of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Wednesday, flooding streets and uprooting trees as it crossed the coast and brushed the resort city of Cancun.

Storm It formed in the Caribbean Sea on Tuesday. In western Cuba, power was cut to more than 200,000 homes and businesses as it passed over Helena Island.

Helen will be one of the biggest storms in years to hit the region, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Bill Klotzbach. Since 1988, only three Gulf hurricanes have been larger than Helen’s predicted size: 2017’s Irma, 2005’s Wilma, and 1995’s Opal.

Areas 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of the Georgia-Florida line can expect hurricane conditions. More than half of Georgia’s public school districts and several universities canceled classes.

For Atlanta, Helen could be the worst strike on a major southern inland city in 35 years, said University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd.

About 200 miles (320 kilometers) south, near Valdosta, Georgia, residents filled sandbags at a fire station Thursday as rain poured down. Out of town, Joe Overby, worried about the oak trees in his yard damaged by Italia last year, climbed into a storage building as he prepared to ride out the storm. “I’m afraid they’re going to come down this time,” Overby said.

Landslides were possible in southern Appalachia, and rain was expected as far south as Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana.

President Joe Biden approved a state of emergency declaration for Georgia on Thursday. Federal officials have deployed with generators, food and water, search and rescue and power restoration teams.

Helen is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began on June 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year. Because of the warmest ocean temperatures on record.