All eyes are on the Tropics this week as Helene tracks farther north in the Caribbean Sea. Helene reached tropical storm status Tuesday and is expected to intensify to a major hurricane Thursday.
Hurricane conditions, flooding and life-threatening storm surge will impact the west coast of Florida and the Florida Panhandle Thursday. Helene could make landfall along the Florida Panhandle later Thursday as a Category 3 (111-129mph) hurricane.
Almost all of Florida is under tropical alerts, along with south Georgia. Tallahassee to Horshoe Bend are under a Hurricane Warning. Panama City, along with Tampa, Fort Myers & Orlando are under Tropical Storm Warnings. Jasper, Florida to Valdosta, Georgia are under a Hurricane Watch.
Helene will weaken after making landfall Thursday, but will still bring rain & wind as it tracks farther north. The heaviest and most widespread rain for Arkansas is expected Friday.
Some spots across the Southeast could get over half a foot of rain. Locally, parts of Arkansas are expecting 2-3″+ of rainfall from Helene.