Hurricane watches have been issued for parts of Cuba, Mexico and a stretch of the Florida coastline, including Tampa Bay, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. A tropical storm warning has been issued for parts of the Florida Keys.
The storm was located 170 miles southeast of the western tip of Cuba and had sustained winds of 45 mph. It was expected to strengthen into Hurricane Helene on Wednesday as it approached the Gulf Coast.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Monday in dozens of counties ahead of its arrival.
Heavy rains and big waves already lashed the Cayman Islands on Tuesday.
“Now is the time to start preparing. If you’re in an evacuation zone, you should evacuate,” said Lisa Bucci, a hurricane specialist at the center. “Don’t be fooled by the way the storm looks at the moment. We are expecting it to rapidly intensify.”
She said people in regions under watches and warnings should be prepared to lose power and should have enough food and water for at least three days.
The disturbance is expected to move “over extremely deep and warm waters” that would fuel its intensification.
“Conditions look quite favorable for strengthening over the eastern Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday and Thursday,” the center said. “This system will become quite large and powerful before landfall.”
Helene could strengthen into a Category 3 hurricane before approaching the northeast Gulf Coast. Since 2000, eight major hurricanes have made landfall in Florida, according to Philip Klotzbach, a Colorado State University hurricane researcher.
Given the anticipated large size, storm surge, wind and rain will extend far from the center of the expected storm, especially on the east side. The center warned of “inland penetration of strong winds over parts of the southeastern United States after landfall.”
Bucci said states including Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana could see rainfall associated with the storm.
