Tropical Storm Helene forecast to grow into hurricane with 150 mph gusts before Florida landfall

Tropical Storm Helene gained strength Wednesday and is forecast to become a hurricane later in the day as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico where the National Hurricane Center said it will intensify into a major Category 3 storm.

As of the NHC’s 8 a.m. advisory, Helene had increased sustained winds to 70 mph and was located about 60 miles east-northeast of Cozumel, Mexico and 100 miles west-southwest of the western tip of Cuba as it moved northwest at 9 mph. Tropical-storm-force winds extend out 175 miles from the center.

The forecast intensity has it reaching major hurricane strength with 120 mph sustained winds and 150 mph gusts by Thursday and an expected landfall south of Tallahassee in Florida’s Big Bend region, but the breadth of the storm has caused tropical storm warnings to extend to the entirety of Florida’s east coast on top of Gulf Coast and Panhandle hurricane warnings and watches.

And several coastal counties have ordered evacuations as storm surge was a threat from southwest Florida up to the Panhandle including up to 15 feet in the Big Bend, up to 8 feet in Tampa Bay and 5 feet in Charlotte Harbor.“It is going to be a big storm, and by big I mean not intensity, I mean size,” said NHC Deputy Director Jaime Rhome on Tuesday. “And big storms cause big problems. And that’s one of the take-home messages that I need you to understand.”Hurricane warnings are in place for the Gulf Coast from the Anclote River near Tarpon Springs north to Mexico Beach, Florida on the Panhandle as well as the immediate threat of in Mexico from Cabo Catoche to Tulum as well as Cozumel.A hurricane watch is in place for Englewood north the Anclote River and Tampa Bay as well as on the Cuban province of Pinar del Rio. Tropical storm warnings are in effect for the Dry Tortugas, all of the Florida Keys, the Florida west coast from Flamingo to the Anclote River and Tampa Bay, west of Mexico Beach on the Panhandle to the Walton-Bay county line and the east coast of the Florida peninsula from Flamingo around and north up to the mouth of the Altamaha Sound in Georgia.