Hurricane Helene Florida: Wind damage, flooding, live updates on Friday

Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Florida Big Bend late Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane, leaving flooding, damage and destruction along Florida’s Gulf Coast before racing north into Georgia overnight.

1.2 million electricity customers in Florida woke up in the dark early Friday morning and had to deal with the aftermath of the fast-moving tropical cyclone. Power outages are just a few of the many problems Helene has left Floridians with.

➤ Live updates for Sarasota and Manatee counties: Get the latest for the Sarasota area.

➤ Live updates for Lee County: Get the latest for the Fort Myers area.

➤ Live updates for Collier County: Get the latest for the Naples region.

On Friday morning, Hurricane Helene weakened to a Category 1 hurricane and then a strong tropical storm moved toward the Atlanta area.

Helene made landfall with winds of 140 mph in Taylor County, Florida, just east of the mouth of the Aucilla River, about 10 miles west-southwest of Perry, Florida. This is another major blow near where Hurricanes Debby and Idalia made landfall in the last two days of August.

This storm, like the two others that recently struck Florida’s Big Bend, once again avoided direct impact on the state capital, Tallahassee.

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Hurricane Helene’s landfall is approximately 30 miles northwest of where Hurricane Idalia made landfall in August 2023.

Hurricane Isaac formed Thursday and is moving east in the mid-Atlantic, far from the United States.

Another system is Invest 98L in the eastern and central tropical Atlantic, which is at 90 percent formation over the next 48 hours.

The National Weather Service forecast outlook describes showers and thunderstorms associated with a low pressure system halfway between the Cape Verde Islands and the Lesser Antilles that remains well organized.

Environmental conditions are conducive to further development and a tropical depression or storm could form at any time today as the system moves generally west to west-northwest at 10 to 15 mph. The system is then expected to slow and turn north-northwestward by this weekend.

Perry is located on Florida’s Gulf Coast in the Big Bend region.

Florida’s “Big Bend” lies in the curve of the Florida peninsula around the Gulf of Mexico. The area includes Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie and Levy counties and consists largely of “untamed coastal landscape,” according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Perry is about 50 miles from Tallahassee, Florida’s capital.

— Grace Pateras and CA Bridges

Hurricane Helene made landfall near Perry, Florida as a Category 4 storm

Helene is the strongest hurricane ever to make landfall along the Big Bend in Florida since 1851. This surpasses the previous record for the region set by Hurricane Cedar Key in 1896 with winds of 125 miles per hour. said Phil Klotzbach, a senior research scientist at Colorado State University.

— Dinah Pulver

Where is Helene going?

The impact of Hurricane Helene before landfall in Florida

Drone video of the Steinhatchee River before Hurricane Helene on September 26th

A top view of the Steinhatchee River ahead of Hurricane Helene on September 26, 2024 in Steinhatchee, Florida.

Matlacha Bridge: Hurricane Helene sweeps over Matlacha Pass near Pine Island

Hurricane Helene churns through the Matlacha Pass just off the Matalacha Bridge on Thursday, September 26th.

Florida weather radar

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