#18,318
Tropical Cyclone Helene was upgraded this morning by the National Hurricane Center to a CAT 1 hurricane, and is expected grow larger, and more powerful, before making landfall late tomorrow in the Florida panhandle.
The 11 am discussion predicts:
Although the storm is expected to pass well to the west of Tampa Bay, significant storm surge is expected from Englewood north to where the storm crosses the coast.
Helene is expected to be a very large and dangerous category 3 storm at landfall, and preparations to protect life and property should be completed by early Thursday. Impacts may be felt overnight further down the state.
The Key Messages from the NHC follow:Power outages may be widespread and prolonged across much of Florida, and southern Georgia. while the winds may quickly diminish, inland flooding - sometimes hundreds of miles from landfall - can be devastating.
While I'll be doing usual hurricane preparedness blogs - and I follow (and recommend) Mark Sudduth's Hurricane Track, and Mike's Weather page - your primary source of forecast information should always be the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida.
These are the real experts, and the only ones you should rely on to track and forecast the storm.
If you are on Twitter, you should also follow @FEMA, @NHC_Atlantic, @NHC_Pacific and @ReadyGov, and of course take direction from your local Emergency Management Office.
For more Hurricane resources from NOAA, you'll want to follow these links.
HURRICANE SAFETY
- NWS: Hurricane Safety Tips and Resources
- NOAA Education: Hurricane Safety, explained
- Ocean Today: Hurricane Safe videos
- CDC: Hurricanes and COVID-19
- CDC: Public Shelters During COVID-19
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
