Helene is expected to make landfall in or around Apalachee Bay as a Category 3 Hurricane on the evening of Sept. 26.
Satellite image of Tropical Storm Helen as it makes its way towards Florida as of 11:40 a.m. (ET) on Sept. 24, 2024 (Screenshot/NOAA/NESDIS/STAR-GOES East).
By T.J. Muscaro
Florida extended its state of emergency to 61 counties on Sept. 24, and Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that preparations were underway for the arrival of what could become Hurricane Helene.
Only just labeled Tropical Storm Helene by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in its 11 a.m. (ET) advisory update, the center predicted it would rapidly intensify and hit the Florida Panhandle as a Category 3 Hurricane on Sept. 26.
Nearly all of the Florida Gulf Coast, from Mexico Beach to the Florida Keys, was already under a storm surge warning.
A tropical storm warning has been issued for Key West and the lower Keys, the Big Bend area is expected to receive 10–15 feet of storm surge, while Tampa Bay faces an expected five to eight feet of surge.
Tropical storm-force winds are expected to arrive in the Tampa Bay area on the afternoon of Sept. 25.
During a 9:30 a.m. press conference at the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee, DeSantis added that all counties except South East Florida were expected to be impacted by the storm.
He was joined by Kevin Guthrie, director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management (FDEM), who told Floridians that the hurricane is expected to have tropical-storm-force winds (39 mph–73 mph) extended 250 miles from the center.
That means that the entire width of the peninsula from the Big Bend to the Space Coast is expected to be affected.
As of the 11 a.m. (ET) on Sept. 24, the NHC marked Helene 170 miles south-southeast of the western tip of Cuba, generating winds of 45 mph.
It is expected to become a hurricane by the morning of Sept. 25 and a major hurricane with winds exceeding 110 mph early on Sept. 26.
Thanks to a high-pressure system currently moving eastward over Florida and the southeast United States, the NHC predicts the storm’s track will shift slightly west on Sept. 24, but landfall is still expected in or around Apalachee Bay as a Category 3 Hurricane.
However, the NHC also states that much of the potential impact still depends on where the storm center forms and that “it is imperative not to focus on specific landfall locations this far in the future.”
DeSantis also warned Floridians not to get “wedded to the cone” of uncertainty and said significant changes in indirect impacts extend well beyond it, and movements east or west could have significant outcomes.
Specifically, he mentioned that a more easterly track would bring additional storm surge to Florida’s west coast, like Tampa Bay.
The governor’s preliminary emergency declaration was announced on Sept. 23 and “turned everything on” in anticipation of a major hurricane.
He also requested a pre-fall emergency declaration by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
DeSantis said 3,000 members of Florida’s National Guard are ready to assist FDEM.
The governor activated the Florida State Guard, which has 10 shallow water boat teams on standby, as well as seven flood rescue skiffs, 12 UTVs, 15 cut and toss crews, two amphibious rescue vehicles, and seven search and rescue crews.
Florida Department of Transportation is monitoring flood-prone areas, prepositioning pumps, clearing drainage systems, and deploying traffic signal generators across the state.
In anticipation of power loss, 18,000 linemen have already been placed, and more are on the way. An estimated 150,000 feet of flood protection devices, which successfully protected utility substations from floodwaters during Hurricane Debbie, have been deployed.
Hundreds of Starlink units are also ready to be distributed to provide online access, especially for businesses that need the Internet to operate.
Both DeSantis and Guthrie urged Floridians to finalize storm preparations as soon as possible, be prepared to lose power, and heed any evacuation orders issued by local county officials.
When asked if he would leave Tallahassee in the event of a direct hit, DeSantis said: “I’m not getting out of Dodge.”
The governor said he would be operating out of the hurricane-proof Emergency Operations Center. DeSantis still planned to attend a prayer breakfast with his wife in the Tampa Bay Area on Sept. 25.
“We’re going to probably make some stops along the way to visit the linemen and some of the prep, but we will be here in Tallahassee for the storm,” DeSantis said.
If the storm remains on course, it will be the third hurricane to hit Florida’s Big Bend region in 13 months.