One dead as Hurricane Helene makes landfall in Florida as catastrophic Category 4 storm: Latest

Hurricane Helene is now moving north into the state of Georgia after making landfall in Florida, forecasters say.

The eyewall – the part of the storm that has the fastest winds below it – is now entering southern Georgia, the National Hurricane Center said in its 1am ET (6am BST) update.

The storm began to slightly weaken, the NHC said in its update, but it was expected to re a hurricane.

“Please do not leave your shelter and re in place through the passage of these life-threatening conditions,” the update said.

It said Helene “continues to produce catastrophic winds”.

Helene is expected to re a full-fledged hurricane as it rolls through the Macon, Georgia, area on Friday, forecasters said.

It could bring 12 inches (30.5 cm) of rain or more, potentially devastating the state’s cotton and pecan crops, which are in the middle of harvesting season.

“The current forecast for Hurricane Helene suggests this storm will impact every part of our state,” Georgia governor Brian Kemp said.

After making landfall across the Florida coast, Helene is expected to move more slowly over the Tennessee Valley on Friday and Saturday, the NHC said.

Here’s the path of the storm:

At least one person has died in Florida after the Category 4 storm made landfall causing severe flooding.

The identity of the person and the cause has not been shared but in a press conference governor Ron DeSantis said it happened at Interstate 4 near the Tampa area.

He urged people to not travel, saying the “roads can be hazardous” and it’s “very, very dangerous”.

Mr DeSantis warned that there are likely to be “additional” fatalities in the state as the storm moves through.

“When Floridians wake up tomorrow morning, we’re going to be waking up to a state where very likely there’s been additional loss of life,” he says. “And certainly, there’s going to be loss of property.”

He notes emergency crews don’t know the extent of the impact yet due to it being night time in Florida.

“We’re not getting a full picture yet,” he says.

The Florida Highway Patrol in Tampa said it was closing the Sunshine Skyway Bridge Thursday afternoon, as conditions in the area are continuing to devolve.

“As weather conditions continue to deteriorate & wind gusts have reached 60 MPH, FHP is closing the #Skyway,” the patrol wrote on X.

“Motorists are requested to seek alternate routes, do not drive through flooded roads & unless absolutely necessary stay off area roadways.”

The southern Appalachians are expected to see strong, damaging winds and rainfall of up to a foot, with some isolated amounts of 20 inches.

“This rainfall will likely result in catastrophic and potentially life-threatening flash and urban flooding, along with significant river flooding. Numerous significant landslides are expected in steep terrain across the southern Appalachians,” the National Hurricane Center warned.

The National Weather Service’s office in South Carolina’s Greenville-Spartanburg warned of “one of the most significant weather events to happen in the western portions of the area in the modern era.”

“Record flooding is forecasted and has been compared to the floods of 1916 in the Asheville area,” it said.

Category 4 Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region on Thursday night, bringing with it deadly winds of 140mph and a “catastrophic” storm surge.

Poweroutage.us is now reporting over a million people are without power.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri warned residents in evacuation zones about playing “stupid games.”

Storm surge in the county could top between five and eight feet there.

“We’ve all heard the adage, play stupid games win stupid prizes. Somebody is going to win a stupid prize because they’re not going to get out and we’re not coming,” Gualtieri said.

People in evacuation zone A should get out now.

“When Floridians wake up tomorrow morning, we’re going to be waking up to a state where there’s been additional loss of life and certainly theres going to be loss of property,” DeSantis said during the news conference. “You’re going to have people losing their homes because of this storm.”

DeSantis advised people against going out in the storm as it hits land. He told Floridians to expect additional power outages.

Residents could be prepared for wind damage and falling trees.