Helene 'very close' to making landfall
Hurricane Helene is "very close" to making landfall along Florida's Big Bend region, the National Hurricane Center said in an 11 p.m. ET update.
The storm was about 40 miles southeast of Tallahassee with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph. It is "accompanied by a catastrophic storm surge and life-threatening winds," the hurricane center said in all capital letters.
Helene was moving north-northeast at 24 mph, the center said.
It is expected to turn to the northeast after it makes landfall, "taking the center over Georgia," and will slow down over the Tennessee Valley tomorrow and Saturday, the center said.
Videos show rescue, high water in Lee, Charlotte counties
Videos from officials in Lee and Charlotte counties show water flooding roads as Hurricane Helene inches closer to making landfall in Florida's Big Bend region.
In one video from the Lee County Sheriff's Office, a rescuer is seen wading through the heavy flooding and facing strong winds to help people with a lifeboat. The water appears to rise to the rescuer's knees.
In another video, Lee County rescuers wade through waist-deep water.
A photo from Charlotte County Emergency Management shows water rising halfway up a one-story building. Another photo shows the water covering the bottom half of a stop sign pole.
Heavy water sprays onto the road as a driver tries to pass in Lee County. Video from inside the car shows buckets of water being dumped on the windshield, with low visibility.
Biden approves South Carolina emergency declaration
President Joe Biden today approved an emergency declaration in South Carolina and has ordered that federal resources be made available to the state to deal with Hurricane Helene.
The approval authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA to coordinate disaster relief efforts.
More than 40 counties were named in the release.
Pressure continues to drop as mesovortices form
NBC News meteorologist Bill Karins noted on X that Helene now has three mesovortices, which are smaller rotational patterns that can form within storms. They can lead to tornadoes once storms make landfall.
He also noted the pressuring continues to drop, which is associated with the storm's continuing to strengthen.
"Incredible from a scientific perspective but horrific for life and property," Karins added.
Almost 700,000 customers without power in Florida
Around 698,700 homes and businesses were without power in Florida a little after 10 p.m., according to tracking website PowerOutage.us, with some of the hardest-hit areas on the state’s Gulf Coast.
The eye wall of Hurricane Helene was moving onshore into Florida’s Big Bend area, forecasters said. Landfall is when the center of the storm crosses the coast.
In Dixie and Levy counties, in the Big Bend region, around half of electricity customers tracked by the site were without power.
'Extremely dangerous' Hurricane Helene starting to move ashore
The eye wall of the "extremely dangerous" Hurricane Helene is starting to move ashore along the coast of Florida's Big Bend region, according to the National Hurricane Center's 10 p.m. ET update.
The storm, which is still churning with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph, is creating "catastrophic winds" that are expected to spread across the region in the coming hours.
"This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation," the hurricane center wrote in the update. "Persons should not leave their shelters and remain in place through the passage of these life-threatening conditions."
The hurricane was about 65 miles west-northwest of Cedar Key and 65 miles south of Tallahassee as of the update.
Duke Energy predicts 'extended outage durations' in Big Bend, Panhandle
Utility company Duke Energy, which serves the Tallahassee and Big Bend regions, warned that people should expect extended power outages due to the damage from Hurricane Helene.
“We anticipate landfall will bring the most significant damage to our infrastructure in the Panhandle and Big Bend area that will likely cause extended outage durations,” Todd Fountain, Duke Energy's storm director, said in a statement. “Please continue to prioritize your safety first.”
The eye wall of the Category 4 storm was moving onshore tonight.
Deluged Appalachia bracing for another round of intense rain from Helene
A rainstorm expected only once every 1,000 years deluged parts of southern Appalachia last night, with as much as 8 inches falling in a day’s time in Asheville, North Carolina.
Now, the area awaits some of the most intense rainfall forecast from fast-moving Hurricane Helene. In some areas, Helene could dump an additional 6 to 12 inches of rain, according to the National Hurricane Center.
“We’re expecting unprecedented rainfall amounts in a two- to three-day period,” said Andrew Kimball, a National Weather Service forecaster in the Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina, office, adding that forecasters expect rivers to flood at record levels.
Driver in Tampa killed after sign fell onto car
A driver was killed tonight after a sign fell onto the driver's car around 8 p.m. ET in Tampa, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
The incident happened on westbound Interstate 4 at mile marker 1, the state patrol said.
No additional details were released.
The vehicle of a camera crew from NBC affiliate WFLA of Tampa drives through damage from Hurricane Helene in Cedar Key, Florida.