PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Tropical Storm Helene is expected to strengthen into the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the United States in over a year sometime in the next 24 hours.
Mandatory evacuations are already underway in some Florida counties.
Helene is expected to make landfall on Florida’s northern Gulf Coast late Thursday, possibly as a Category 3 hurricane.
Currently, 61 of Florida’s 67 counties are under a state of emergency. In South Florida, Miami-Dade and Broward counties are not included in that list, but Monroe County is.
While businesses are boarding up and residents are filling up sandbags, mandatory evacuations have already been issued for five Florida counties, including Charlotte, Franklin, Gulf, Pinellas and Wakulla counties.
Voluntary evacuations have been recommended for Gadsen and Jefferson counties as the clock is ticking for residents who are in the storm’s path to escape.
Rain totals could approach one foot in parts of the Florida Panhandle.