Hurricane Helene to hit southeastern US with catastrophic impacts

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Hurricane Helene to hit southeastern US with catastrophic impacts

Helene will be the fourth hurricane to hit the contiguous US so far this year.

Hurricane watches and warnings are already in force along the entirety of the west coast of Florida from the Keys to the Panhandle.

Helene will reach maximum strength as a category 4 major hurricane just before making landfall on Thursday evening local time in the Big Bend counties of Taylor, Jefferson and Wakulla.

However, at around 600 miles (970km) wide, Helene will bring life-threatening impacts over a much larger area.

The entire west coast of Florida is under a storm surge warning with 3-5ft (1-1.5m) at least.

Tampa Bay could have a surge of 5-8ft (1.5-2.5m) but around the Big Bend – specifically Carrabelle to Suwannee River – there could be as much as 20ft (6m) of water inundating land.

Wind speeds are likely to strengthen early on Thursday morning before reaching hurricane-force strength with gusts up to 161mph (260 km/h) just before landfall.

As Helene will be moving fast onto land, gusts of wind over 100mph (160km/h) will still be felt well inland with the city of Tallahassee potentially seeing widespread damage.

The National Hurricane Center is warning that rainfall totals around north-west Florida could be as high as 12in (300mm) and are likely to cause considerable flash flooding.

Rain will not be limited to Florida, either, as Helene travels further inland.

Up to 12in (300mm) is predicted for parts of Georgia and South Carolina, but as much as 18in (460mm) in the Southern Appalachians.

Following on from last week’s flooding rains, this increases the risk of flash floods and landslides as the ground is already saturated.

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