Hurricane Helene, hundreds of miles away from the region in the Gulf of Mexico, managed to make its presence known to the entire state of Florida on Thursday.
Eying a late Thursday or early Friday landfall in the Big Bend area, where life-threatening storm surges of 18-20 feet were expected, the huge hurricane brought heavy winds and high waters to Charlotte and Sarasota counties during the day.
The long storm brought through several tornado warnings throughout the day, including one investigated that may have touched down between Cape Haze and Wellen Park late Thursday.
A tornado watch was in effect, and with a long tail, the hurricane could keep moments of harsh weather conditions cropping up for several days.
Roads in Punta Gorda and homes in El Jobean were flooded, along with neighborhoods from Nokomis to Harbour Heights, including Manasota Key and portions of Englewood, and Charlotte Harbor.
More than 20 roads in the city of Punta Gorda itself were closed by late Thursday.
A tropical storm warning was issued spanning from Babcock Ranch north through all of Sarasota County.