Latest threat update: Helene heading for Florida's Big Bend

The forecast for Major Hurricane Helene hasn't changed, it will slam into Florida’s Big Bend tonight as a major hurricane. This large hurricane is bringing a laundry list of trouble to Florida today and tonight and the Southeast on Friday.

Florida and Georgia residents in the path of Helene should be hunkering down for a long night of wind and rain.

Make sure to have alerts turned on to get the latest threat information for your local area.

Here are the latest threats:

Storm Surge

The biggest concerns before and at landfall is the rapid rise of water pushed ashore by the hurricane’s large and fierce wind field. Coastal areas from St. Petersburg northward will see a surge exceeding 5 feet with the surge potential heading north up the Gulf Coast. The Big Bend area of Florida could receive a surge that could reach 20 feet. That will destroy most coastal property.

Battering waves will increase the surges destructive effect.

Flooding

Hurricanes are giant rain machines and Helene won’t be any different. Its squalls will sweep downpours across Florida and the Southeast tonight and Friday. As it moves inland, it will soak Georgia and the Carolinas, including the greater Atlanta area.

More than 5 inches of rainfall will accumulate, with many places in the Florida Panhandle, Georgia and South Carolina receiving upwards of a foot of rainfall. Isolated rainfall totals of 20 inches are possible. This will cause major flooding far inland from the coast.

Wind damage

The fiercest winds will occur across the Florida Big Bend into the Florida Panhandle and southern Georgia.

Hurricane-force winds will knock over trees and knock out power to possibly millions of people. Tallahassee, Fla., and Valdosta, Ga., could be hit particularly hard with outages.

Tornado

Outer rainbands can often produce rapidly developing and quick-moving tornadoes. These twisters often are wrapped in downpours, so they are hard to see. If a warning is issued, act quickly.

Weather & Radar forecasters, including on-the-ground reporting from our reporter Jonathan Petramala, will be providing up to the minute coverage as Helene moves ashore.