Hurricane Helene Barrels Toward Florida With Fierce Winds, Storm Surge

Hurricane Helene Barrels Toward Florida With Fierce Winds, Storm Surge
A woman fills up a container with gas as Hurricane Helene intensifies before its expected landfall on Florida’s Big Bend, in Cross City, Fla., on Sept. 25, 2024. Marco Bello/Reuters
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Florida braced for the arrival of Hurricane Helene on Thursday, forecast to be a powerful Category 4 storm when it smashes into the state’s panhandle.

Officials issued dire warnings, pleading with residents in coastal areas along the hurricane’s path to evacuate ahead of catastrophic winds and a potentially deadly storm surge, the wall of seawater pushed on land by hurricane-force winds, that could rise to 20 feet (6.1 meters) in some spots.