Tropical Storm Helene is predicted to soon be making its way toward the U.S. coast, bringing rain to North Carolina in coming days.
The storm is near-hurricane strength in the Caribbean Sea , just offshore the Yucatan Peninsula. It’s expected to “rapidly intensify” over the Gulf of Mexico and move toward Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center .
Helene is forecast to bring “life-threatening storm surge” and hurricane-force winds to parts of Florida, the NHC said in an advisory early in the morning on Wednesday, Sept. 25.
The United States, including portions of Florida, the Southeast, the Southern Appalachians and the Tennessee Valley, should expect “considerable and potentially life-threatening flash and urban flooding.”
The center of the storm is predicted to reach land along the Big Bend area of Florida, late Thursday or Thursday night , according to the NHC.
Helene will likely be upgraded to a major hurricane before reaching Florida , Nick Luchetti, a meteorologist with the U.S. National Weather Service Forecast Office in Raleigh, told The News & Observer on Sept. 25.