The time to prepare for the onslaught of Hurricane Helene is essentially over as the monster storm continues to gain strength and sets its sights on Florida’s Big Bend region, where it will unleash a potentially “unsurvivable” 20-foot storm surge, catastrophic hurricane-force winds and flooding rain.
Nearly the entire state of Florida is under some sort of tropical weather alert, with Tropical Storm Warnings extending hundreds of miles inland into Georgia and the Carolinas, including Atlanta.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) says that because of Hurricane Helene’s massive size, there is a significant risk of a life-threatening storm surge along the entire west coast of the Florida Peninsula, as well as Florida’s Big Bend region.
“A catastrophic and deadly storm surge is likely along portions of the Florida Big Bend coast, where inundation could reach as high as 20 feet above ground level, along with destructive waves,” the NHC warned.
The highest inundation, with as much as 20 feet of storm surge flooding, is expected from Carrabelle to the Suwannee River in Florida, with other locations like Apalachicola and Chassahowitzka forecast to see 10-15 feet of storm surge.
Tampa Bay is expected to see a storm surge of 5-8 feet.
The National Weather Service in Tallahassee issued a dire warning about the potentially deadly storm surge on Thursday morning.
“There is increasing confidence of catastrophic and potentially unsurvivable storm surge for Apalachee Bay,” the NWS said. “Storm surge may begin to arrive as early as (Thursday) afternoon ahead of the strongest winds, building through landfall.”
Millions of Florida residents from the Panhandle to the Keys have spent the last several days preparing for potential impacts, but as Helene gains strength and moves closer to the Sunshine State, the time to prepare is essentially over.
Windows are boarded up and residents were busy filling sandbags and stocking up on essential supplies this week ahead of mandatory evacuation orders that were issued for numerous counties ahead of the hurricane’s arrival.
