This May Be Storm Hurricane Season 'Is Remembered For'

The storm now known as Hurricane Helene is hurtling toward Florida, with expected landfall by late Thursday. With maximum sustained winds of 80mph, CBS News reports it's now registering as a Category 1 storm. The AP reports that Helene is moving north along Mexico's coast in the Caribbean and will "intensify and grow in size" as it progresses, according to the National Hurricane Center. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for much of the Sunshine State's counties, while Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has done the same in his state. Alabama and South Carolina may also be affected. "This could be the storm that the 2024 hurricane season is remembered for," AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jon Porter tells the Tallahassee Democrat. More on the shifting storm system:

• Initial effects: Heavy rain is set to come down in the southeastern part of the US starting Wednesday, and tornadoes are also predicted to make an appearance in parts of the western Florida Peninsula and the south portion of Alabama. Flash floods and surf swells are also anticipated.

• Hurricane strength: Per the Democrat, the National Hurricane Center warns that the storm's winds could reach up to 120mph—which would place Helene squarely in Category 3 territory. Some forecasters say the storm system could even turn into a Category 4 hurricane due to the exceptionally warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Evacuations, closures: Thousands have already fled their homes along the coast, with evacuations mandatory in sections of at least nine counties, per CNN. Several schools and colleges have also shuttered ahead of the storm. Forecasters say people should be prepared to lose power, and to stock enough food and water for at least three days.
• Biden: The president has declared an emergency in Florida and sent FEMA crews to that state and Alabama to help first responders there. Federal officials are also working on getting generators and food and water to those areas expected to be hit the hardest.
• Concern: Forbes notes that Helene is "particularly worrisome" in meteorologists' eyes. "I told my wife ... that Tallahassee will probably look very different on Friday morning," writes forecaster Marshall Shepherd.
• Local reaction: Restaurant staffer Hal Williams, who lives on Florida's Panhandle in Mexico Beach, tells the AP that he barely made it through 2018's Hurricane Michael, which destroyed his home and left him wading through high waters clinging to his cat. "That was such a traumatic experience that that is not the place I needed to be for myself," Summers said; he plans to move inland for this storm.
• Storm tracker: The Washington Post has one so you can keep tabs on where Helene, the eighth named storm of the current season, is currently hovering and where it's heading.

This story was updated to reflect Helene's transition from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane. (More Tropical Storm Helene stories.)