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.
– 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.
