MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tropical Storm Helene is continuing to strengthen as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico, likely becoming a major hurricane before a Florida landfall tomorrow evening.
Current forecasts show Helene becoming a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph before making landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida, just south of Tallahassee, on Thursday evening.
Residents in the Florida Panhandle are bracing for destructive winds, flooding rain, and storm surge up to 15 ft.
As the storm approached the Gulf Coast, hurricane warnings were issued for the northwestern Florida coastline and part of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, and hurricane watches were in effect for parts of western Cuba and Florida, including Tampa Bay, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Parts of Cuba and Florida's southwestern coastline, including the Florida Keys, were under tropical storm warnings. Nearly the entirety of Florida's west coast was under a storm surge warning.
In the U.S., federal authorities are positioning generators, food and water, along with search-and-rescue and power restoration teams, as President Joe Biden declared an emergency in Florida. Gov. Ron DeSantis also declared a state of emergency for most of the state's counties, 10 of which were urging or ordering evacuations.
The storm is expected to move over deep, warm waters, fueling its intensification. People in regions under watches and warnings should be prepared to lose power and should have enough food and water for at least three days, forecasters warned.
After landfall, the remnants of Hurricane Helene will continue northward through Georgia before turning westward through Tennessee and toward Memphis.
Rain from Helene will begin in Memphis late Thursday night and continue through much of the day Friday and Friday night. Rain totals will likely be 1 to 3 inches in much of the area, with some neighborhoods seeing up to 4 inches of rain in a 24 hour period.
While some minor street flooding is possible, major flooding is not anticipated at this time.
The rain from the remnants of Hurricane Helene will end in Memphis late Friday night, leaving us mostly dry for the weekend aside from a few light showers on Saturday.
For the latest Memphis-area forecast anytime, visit abc24.com/weather.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.