Hurricane Helene intensified from a tropical storm to a hurricane on Wednesday morning and is expected to make landfall in Florida by Thursday. Schools statewide have shut down as a precaution.
Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 61 of Florida’s 67 counties as tropical storm Helene intensifies to a hurricane as it heads toward the state with sustained winds of at least 80 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. DeSantis also activated the Florida National Guard and Florida State Guard.
Due to the impending hurricane, some schools around the state were closed on Wednesday and many schools will be closed on Thursday. Citrus County School District announced it would close Sept. 26 and 27 and Lake County Schools were advised to close on Thursday. All Lake-Sumter campuses will be closed, as well as all Marion County Public Schools and Polk County Schools.
According to local news reports, Helene could be the strongest hurricane to hit the state so far this year, with strong winds hitting Florida’s Panhandle on Thursday morning.
A map from the National Hurricane Center shows Helene moving north through Florida on Thursday night. Tallahassee appears to be in the center of hurricane’s path, at this report.
The hurricane is expected to weaken to a tropical storm as it makes its way toward Georgia and the eastern Carolinas as well as Tennessee. Flash is a high probability for northern Georgia, northeast South Carolina and southeast North Carolina. Flash flood warnings extend from southern Florida to the Washington, D.C. area, St. Louis, Missouri to Mobile, Alabama.
This is a developing story. STN will update as more information becomes available.
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