Hurricane Helene makes landfall in Florida Big Bend

Hurricane Helene has made landfall in the Florida Big Bend, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on late on early Friday. 

Helene is located about 45 miles (70 km) east-southeast of Tallahassee, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 225 kph (140 mph), the Miami-based forecaster said. 

Airports in Tampa, Tallahassee and St. Petersburg all suspended operations on Thursday.

11:20pm EDT 26th September -- #Hurricane #Helene has made landfall in the Florida Big Bend region at around 11:10pm EDT just E of the mouth of the Aucilla
River.

Max sustained winds at landfall were estimated at 140 mph & a min pressure of 938 mb.

Info: https://t.co/1OTHyJkqja pic.twitter.com/WWohcTqpBa

— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 27, 2024

Officials pleaded with residents in the path of the storm to heed mandatory evacuation orders or face life-threatening conditions. Helene's surge - the wall of seawater pushed on land by hurricane-force winds - could rise to as much as 20 feet (6.1 meters) in some spots, as tall as a two-story house, the center's director, Michael Brennan, said in a video briefing.

"A really unsurvivable scenario is going to play out" in the coastal area, Brennan said, with water capable of destroying buildings and carrying cars pushing inland.

Helene is expected to remain a full-fledged hurricane as it rolls through the Macon, Georgia, area on Friday, forecasters said. It could bring 12 inches (30.5 cm) of rain or more, potentially devastating the state's cotton and pecan crops, which are in the middle of harvesting season.

"The current forecast for Hurricane Helene suggests this storm will impact every part of our state," Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said.

After making landfall across the Florida coast, Helene is expected move more slowly over the Tennessee Valley on Friday and Saturday, the NHC said.