Hurricane Helene live updates: Storm set to intensify and cause ...

Helene is now located 255 miles southwest of Tampa, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph moving northeast at 14 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in its 11 a.m. advisory.

It’s forecast to make landfall this evening. Afterwards, Helene is forecast to turn northwestward and slow down over the Tennessee Valley tomorrow and Saturday, the NHC said.

“Helene is a very large hurricane. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 345 miles," the weather service said.

Tom Llamas

CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. — Crews in Crawfordville, just south of Tallahassee, were seen this morning already repairing power lines amid pouring rain as Helene churned closer to the coast.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said this morning the state will have 30,000 linemen staged to restore power after the hurricane passes.

Patrick SmithPatrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.

Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, the running mate of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, has urged anyone still in the areas expected to be affected most by storm surges in Florida and Georgia to leave.

"Say a prayer for our friends in Florida and Georgia who are bracing for what seems to be a very bad storm," he said on X this morning.

Vance cancelled two campaign events in Georgia today.

Flooding has already taken over Treasure Island, a barrier island in Pinellas County in the Gulf of Mexico.

The city shared video today showing streets inundated with floodwaters as Helene draws near.

A storm surge warning, tropical storm warning, hurricane watch, flood and tornado watch are in effect for the county, with 4 to 7 feet of storm surge inundation forecast across coastal areas of the county tonight. 

"Elevated coastal waters are forecast to last 24 to 36 hours into Friday evening," the city warned.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a storm briefing this morning that northern Florida "has not had a major hurricane hit in quite some time, and certainly nobody in recent memory has seen a storm of this magnitude."

The governor said Helene's effects are already being felt in the southern part of the state. Overnight, there were 14 different tornado warnings with more likely today.

Florida has 3,500 soldiers ready to respond to the storm, 200 Florida Highway Patrol troopers are ready to deploy, and the Florida Department of Transportation has 550 generators and 40 large pumps ready to remove water from low-lying areas.

Thus far 80 health care facilities, hospitals, assisted living facilities and nursing homes have reported various levels of evacuations, DeSantis said. Shelters are open and all counties are required to have at least one pet friendly shelter.

As Helene swirls closer, here are some forecast impacts:

Storm surge: Catastrophic storm surge of up to 10 to 20 feet in the Big Bend will travel 10 to 25 miles inland depending on river locations. Tampa Bay and Cedar Key could see record high water levels. Up to 20 feet of storm surge is forecast for Carrabelle to Suwannee River. 

Flooding rainfall: Life-threatening river and flash flooding is likely from Florida to the Carolinas. Up to 20 inches of rain is possible for areas under high risk for flash flooding through tonight including Apalachicola, Tallahassee and Asheville.

Wind threat: Extreme wind damage is likely from the Florida coast along the I-95 corridor into Tennessee, with widespread power outages likely. Gusts as high as 110 mph are forecast for Tallahassee. 

Heavy winds and rain battered Marco Island, Florida, ahead of Hurricane Helene’s expected landfall in Florida later today. Helene was forecast to rapidly strengthen and could become a Category 3 or 4 storm.

Helene is expected to intensify into a major Category 3 hurricane by this afternoon and continue to intensify until it makes landfall tonight between 8 and 11 p.m. on the Big Bend of Florida. 

At landfall, it’s expected to be a borderline Category 3/Category 4 hurricane with winds around 125 mph. 

A tornado watch is in place for most of the Florida Peninsula until 8 p.m. ET. A tornado has already been reported this morning near the border of Georgia and South Carolina. Tornado watches will expand later today into parts of those states. Forty-two million are under flood watches from Florida to Virginia including the metro areas of Miami, Tampa, Tallahassee, Atlanta, Birmingham and Memphis. 

Flash flood risk will increase overnight as Helene pushes inland, with parts of the Big Bend and southern Appalachians under a high risk.

In Pinellas County, near Tampa on Florida's west coast, officials chastised locals who defied mandatory evacuation orders for people living in "Zone A" near the shoreline.

"We got a problem and the problem is way that too many people in Zone A aren’t listening. We’ve been out there this morning, there’s still way too many people in the areas covered by upper Tampa Bay, on Tampa Bay itself, on the East Side and out there in there barrier islands," Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said this morning.

He said that flooding has already been reported in the area, warning: "It’s going to reach a point where you’ve got 8 ft of water with wave action. It’s just too dangerous. So now’s the time."

Cathie Perkins, director of Pinellas County Emergency Management, warned locals to brace for 5 to 8 feet of storm surge — “that’s enough to sweep your car away and potentially kill people.”

"Dalia was four feet ... where we had over 1,500 homes in Pinellas County flood. We are talking about peak surge of up to 10 feet. This is much higher than what we had for Idalia. So for those of you that stayed in place in the A Zone, this is not the same story. You need to get out of Zone A period," she said.

Patrick SmithPatrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.

An experimental graphic from the National Hurricane Center shows just how large an area will be affected with severe weather from Hurricane Helene, which extends well beyond the "cone" or central part of the storm.

People fill sandbags ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Helene in Clearwater, Florida, on Wednesday.

Helene is now a Category 2 hurricane, churning with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph. 

“Significant additional strengthening” is forecast before landfall in Florida, the National Hurricane Center warned in an 8 a.m. advisory. 

It’s now located about 320 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, moving north-northeast at 12 mph. 

Students and staff who live on campus at Florida State University in Tallahassee were told to relocate to the Turnbull Conference Center “to wait out the hurricane” and that they are not allowed to bunker down in residence halls, the school announced.

The refuge space will open at 10 a.m. today and students “must be in place by 12 noon… as travel conditions will begin to deteriorate at that time.” FSU had opened a refuge facility at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center as well for off campus students.

Florida A&M University, also in Tallahassee, has a shelter at the Al Lawson Center run by the Red Cross for students and community residents. University residents on campus are “strongly encouraged” to shelter at the center, but students had the option to stay in their residence halls.

Multiple state universities within the projected path of Helene have shuttered for the rest of the week ahead of Helene's landfall.  

Tom Llamas

Reporting from PANACEA, Florida

Hurricane Helene is expected to make landfall in Florida as a potentially catastrophic Category 4 storm, as thousands of residents are racing against the clock to evacuate. NBC’s Tom Llamas reports and TODAY’s Al Roker tracks the storm’s projected path.

Patrick SmithPatrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.

Florida may feel the brunt of Hurricane Helene but its effects will be felt across the southeastern United States, with an "enhanced risk" of the worst damage expected through northeast Florida into Georgia and South Carolina.

The National Weather Service office in Charleston pointed out that all of South Carolina and Georgia are under either hurricane warnings or tropical storm warnings.

Of particular concern is the risk of tornadoes through today and tonight, the NWS said.

Patrick SmithPatrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.

The city of Jacksonville is preparing for the worst by bringing in seven temporary pump stations, NBC affiliate WTLV reported last night.

The area suffered significant flooding a month ago and Mayor Donna Deegan is taking no chances.

The fix is temporary while the city invests in a $40 million permanent pump station that will be able to pump some 75,00 gallons, Deegan told a news conference yesterday.

Patrick SmithPatrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.

People along the Florida coast at risk of dangerous storm surges should leave now and not take any chances, says Max Defender 8 Chief Meteorologist Jeff Berardelli, with NBC affiliate WFLA of Tampa.

“You cannot survive 20 feet or even 15 feet of storm surge,” he said. “If you’re near the water and you know you’re going to flood, especially if you’re in a mobile home, too. You’ve got to go. You cannot take your chances. This is not survivable.”

A storm surge warning is in place for almost all Florida's west coast, as well as Tampa Bay and Charlotte Bay.

Residents in Tallahassee, Florida, made some last minute preparations on Wednesday ahead of Hurricane Helene’s arrival. NBC South Florida's Lorena Inclan reports.

Reporting from TAMPA, Florida

Hurricane Helene moved toward northern Florida and was expected to strengthen to a category 4 storm with the potential for major storm surge, damaging winds and tornadoes. Evacuations were stepped up in areas prone to flooding and sandbagging was in overdrive. NBC News' Marissa Parra reports.

Patrick SmithPatrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.

The Big Bend Coast is set for "catastrophic" wind damage, flash flooding from heavy rain, tornadoes and lethal storm surges, the National Weather Service office in Tallahassee warned early today.

Damaging winds would be felt well inland through the state and into Georgia., it said.

Last night the Tallahassee office said the forecast was a "nightmare surge scenario for Apalachee Bay."

"Please, please, please take any evacuation orders seriously!" it said.

Florida is facing 48 hours of dangerous extreme weather as Hurricane Helene heads across the Gulf of Mexico. NBC News meteorologist Angie Lassman has the latest forecast on Early Today.