EXPLAINER

Hurricane Helene has been downgraded to a tropical storm, but authorities warn that rain and wind remain a threat.

Hurricane Helene hit the Big Bend region of Florida on Thursday evening and has been classified as a category four storm capable of causing significant damage and loss of life. Thousands of residents were evacuated and almost the entire state was placed on alert.

Hurricane Helene is now classified as a tropical storm, less severe but still dangerous. Authorities warned that rains and winds still pose a danger to people in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

Here’s what we know about Hurricane Helene, its impact on Florida, and its path through the United States.

What happened when Hurricane Helene hit Florida?

• Hurricane Helene made landfall around 03:10 GMT (11:10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time) on Thursday evening, with maximum sustained winds estimated at 225 kilometers per hour (140 miles per hour).

11:20 p.m. EDT, September 26 – #Hurricane #Helene made landfall in the Florida Big Bend region, just east of the mouth of the Aucilla, around 11:10 p.m. EDT
Flow.

Maximum sustained wind speeds at landfall were estimated at 140 mph and a minimum pressure of 938 mb.

Info: https://t.co/1OTHyJkqja pic.twitter.com/WWohcTqpBa

— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 27, 2024

• A category four storm, it was the strongest ever to hit the Big Bend region of the state. A few hours later, around 0900 GMT, authorities downgraded the hurricane to a tropical storm but warned that heavy rainfall and strong, damaging winds still posed a significant threat.
• Fallen trees brought down power lines across the state and as of 0640 GMT, nearly 1.3 million people in Florida were without power, according to tracking website poweroutage.us. Florida has a population of 22 million people.
• Previously, the weather service warned people to deal with the strong winds “as if a tornado were coming and quickly move indoors or shelter NOW!”
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has urged residents to stay indoors and avoid roads as a powerful storm surge from Helene floods streets and creates dangerous conditions.

Which direction is Hurricane Helene heading?

• Helene landed near the mouth of the Aucilla River in the Big Bend area of ​​Florida’s Gulf Coast.

• At 0500 GMT, local authorities said Helene would be moving north to Georgia. The National Hurricane Center said the eyewall – the portion of the storm with the strongest winds beneath it – was moving into the southern part of the state.
• Authorities said damaging winds will be felt throughout Georgia and the Carolinas throughout Friday.
• At 1000 GMT they also said catastrophic, life-threatening flash floods and urban flooding were expected in the higher areas of the southern Appalachians in North Carolina.

What do hurricane categories mean?

• The National Weather Service (NWS) in the United States uses the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale to classify storms.
• Depending on the sustained wind speed, hurricanes are assigned a category from one to five.
• Categories one and two are considered “dangerous,” but those reaching category three and above “are considered major hurricanes because they have the potential to cause significant loss of life and damage.”
• A category four hurricane can sustain winds of 209-251 km/h (130-156 mph), while a category one has winds of 119-153 km/h (74-95 mph).
• Regardless, a tropical storm has maximum sustained surface winds in the range of 63-118 km/h (39-73 mph).
• Winds are a major concern as they can cause enormous damage. “When the wind hits, it can turn anything into a projectile, anything that is not bolted down – traffic signs, furniture – can fly through the air, causing property damage and personal injury. Roof tiles can come loose, trees can fall and power lines can hit,” Al Jazeera’s Phil Lavelle reported from Tallahassee, Florida.

What are the conditions in Georgia and neighboring states?

• More than 37 million people were under a tropical storm warning from the southern tip of Florida to western North Carolina early Friday, according to the National Weather Service. This means tropical storm conditions with winds of 117 km/h (73 mph) are expected in the region over the next 36 hours.
• About 770,709 people were without power in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina early Friday, according to poweroutage.us, a tracking website.
• In Georgia, Helene could bring 12 inches (30.5 cm) or more of rain on Friday, potentially destroying the state’s cotton and pecan crops that are in the middle of harvest. “The current forecast for Hurricane Helene indicates that this storm will affect every part of our state,” said Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.
• In North Carolina, more than 260,000 people were under a flash flood warning in Asheville. The National Water Center warned that significant flooding was possible along the Swannanoa River.

Flash Flood Warning including Rutherford County, NC until 9:30 a.m. EDT pic.twitter.com/j8OWTfPweS

– NWS GSP (@NWSGSP) September 27, 2024

• A tornado watch has also been placed for parts of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia until 10:00 p.m. GMT.
• President Biden, who approved disaster declarations for Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina on Thursday, urged people to take the storm “extremely seriously” and warned that it is expected to be “catastrophic.”

What do we know about the victims?

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reported that one person was killed when a sign fell on a car driving on Interstate 4 near Ybor City in the Tampa area. “This just shows that the conditions out there are very dangerous,” the governor said in a news conference Thursday evening. “You just have to crouch down now. Now is not the time to go out.”
• DeSantis said more deaths were possible as the storm progressed and that 3,500 National Guard troops were standing by to help with the response. “When Floridians wake up tomorrow morning, we will wake up in a state where there will most likely have been additional deaths. And certainly there will be property loss,” DeSantis added.
• In Georgia, two people died in Wheeler County when a suspected tornado hit a mobile home, local media reported. CNN reported that the suspected tornado is related to the Hurricane Helene storm system.
• A four-year-old girl was killed in a car accident in North Carolina, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. In the midst of heavy rain, the girl was traveling in an SUV when she crossed the center line of the road and crashed into another vehicle. A woman, a four-year-old and a 12-year-old were taken to hospital, but the youngest died of her injuries, local media reported.

Friday, 3 a.m. EDT, tropical cyclone update #Hurricane #Helene:

Hurricane force winds continue to advance #Georgia. Please continue to stay put during these life-threatening conditions. https://t.co/XtkxtGDQLT pic.twitter.com/nrQRUvLLWI

— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 27, 2024