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'Life-threatening situation' as Helene moves through Georgia
People in Georgia should continue to shelter from Hurricane Helene and stay away from windows during what the National Hurricane Center this morning called a "dangerous and life-threatening situation."
The NHC said in a 4 a.m. ET update that the storm was moving rapidly inland through the state, bringing winds of up to 77 mph and heavy rain.
Sawannee County Sheriff urges people: 'DO NOT BE RIDING AROUND SIGHT-SEEING!'
As Florida awakens to devastation across the state from Hurricane Helene, one sheriff's message is clear: This is not the time to be out snapping pictures for social media.
"As Hurricane Helene makes its way out of Suwannee County we cannot stress this enough: STAY OFF THE ROADS... DO NOT BE RIDING AROUND SIGHT SEEING!" Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook this morning.
The post said there had been "extensive damage reported along the western side of Suwannee County," which is east of Tallahassee.
The post said: "With the extreme destruction across our area, resources from the state are going to be stretched very thin for a while, since unfortunately there are areas that have been hit harder than us."
"We’re fearing the worst when the sun comes up," it added.
About 40 rescued from rising waters in Pasco County
Emergency services rescued about 40 people from fast-rising waters in Pasco County, Florida, north of Tampa, the local sheriff's department said early today.
Pasco Sheriff's Office posted video to X showing deputies loading multiple rescue boats into flooded streets as operations continue through the night.
Hurricane Helene will affect a huge area as it heads toward the Tennessee Valley
NBC News meteorologist Angie Lassman described the forward path of Hurricane Helene after it made landfall as a Category 4 storm in Florida’s Big Bend. She told Early Today that Helene is racing across the region.
Steinhatchee hit with severe flooding as Hurricane Helene makes landfall
Streets in Steinhatchee, Florida, flooded as Hurricane Helene made landfall as a dangerous Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 140 mph.
Water rescues underway in Pasco County
Water rescue efforts are underway along the U.S. 19 corridor in Florida, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said on social media.
About 40 people have been rescued from rising water in the area, the sheriff's office said.
Pasco County is north of Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa.
Hurricane Helene weakens as it moves inland
Hurricane Helene's maximum sustained winds had dropped to 90 mph by 2 a.m. Friday, the National Hurricane Center said, but life-threatening storm surge, winds and rain are continuing.
With winds of 90 mph, that would make Helene now a Category 1 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph when its center made landfall in Florida at around 11:10 p.m. Thursday.
The center of the storm at 2 a.m. was inside Georgia, located around 30 miles north of Valdosta, the agency said. It was moving fast, north-northeast at 26 mph.
Power outages in Florida and Georgia grow to over 1.5 million
As of around 2 a.m., Georgia had more than 276,000 homes and businesses without power as Hurricane Helene began moving into the state, according to tracking website PowerOutage.us.
Florida, where the then-Category 4 storm made landfall in the Big Bend region late Thursday, had 1,294,943 customers without power, and the hardest-hit areas by proportion of customers out was along the storm’s path.
Utility Duke Energy has warned there could be prolonged outages. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph when it made landfall in Florida.
Helene is the first Category 4 to hit Florida’s Big Bend
Hurricane Helene is the first Category 4 hurricane to hit Florida’s Big Bend region since reliable records have been kept.
The storm made landfall at around 11:10 p.m. Thursday just east of the mouth of the Aucilla River, 10 miles west-southwest of the town of Perry, the National Hurricane Center said.
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph when it made landfall.
The Big Bend region was hit by a hurricane last year, Idalia, but that was a Category 3 storm. That hurricane made landfall near Keaton Beach on Aug, 30, 2023, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph.
Eye wall of Helene is moving into Georgia
The eye wall of “extremely dangerous” Hurricane Helene was moving into Georgia at 1 a.m. Friday, the National Hurricane Center said.
“Helene continues to produce catastrophic winds that are now pushing into southern Georgia,” the agency said in an advisory. “This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation.”
The maximum sustained winds were 110 mph, which would make it a Category 2 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
The hurricane’s center was about 10 miles west-southwest of Valdosta, Georgia, a city not far from the Florida border. The storm was moving north-northeast at 20 mph.