Manatee County is bracing for the arrival of impacts from Hurricane Helene on Thursday.
Helene continued to gather strength overnight and became a Category 2 hurricane Thursday morning with tropical storm force winds extending 345 miles from its center, the National Hurricane Center said in an 11 a.m. update.
The storm is forecast to blast Florida’s Gulf Coast with storm surge and powerful winds as it streams toward a predicted landfall in the Big Bend region Thursday evening as a Category 4 storm with “catastrophic and deadly” storm surge.
Life-threatening storm surge is forecast for other parts of the Gulf Coast, including Southwest Florida. Bradenton-area residents should be prepared for 5 to 8 feet of storm surge and tropical storm force winds of up to 73 mph, with higher gusts possible, forecasters say.
Manatee County officials said storm surge of 3 feet had already been detected as of Thursday morning.
The latest weather forecast has lower rainfall totals for Bradenton and Anna Maria Island than originally expected. Meteorologists say the area should see 2 to 4 inches, with higher amounts possible.