Locals have been boarding up windows, securing boats and filling sand bags ahead of the potential Category 4 storm.
Hurricane Helene is expected to make landfall in Florida this evening, potentially as a Category 4 storm.
Multiple weather warnings are in place for Florida and parts of Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama, and Helene is forecast to sweep through Florida and Georgia, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
The tail end of the storm is expected to reach Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana by the weekend as well.
Given the size of Helene, winds are expected to fetch as far as 200 miles from the center of the storm, according to the National Hurricane Center, while the seawater displaced by the storm is forecast to reach highs of 15-20 feet around the area of Cedar Key, Florida.
Voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders have been put in place throughout Florida, with those under mandatory orders under instruction to start making the necessary preparations immediately.
In a statement released by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis it was announced that the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) had approved the state’s pre-landfall disaster declaration request.
