Tropical Storm – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Triff
The Southeast and Florida are on high alert for major effects from Tropical Storm Helene this week; the Sunshine State has received its first Hurricane Warning. It is predicted that the storm will strengthen into a powerful hurricane with potentially fatal storm surge, inundating rain, and strong gusts.
As Tropical Storm Helene approaches Florida’s Big Bend region, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicts it will strengthen into a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher). Tropical Storm Helene is now the sixth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season.
According to Jamie Rhome, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center, Helene is exceptional due to its size and the projected intensification it will see during the next 24 hours.
“A lot of people wrongly use the current intensity, how it looks currently in satellite imagery, as their overall indicator of risk, not what the storm will be when it moves ashore or moves into their community, but how it looks right now,” Rhome stated. “From satellite photos, it didn’t appear to be very organized until a few hours ago. Thus, a lot of individuals may have dismissed this storm incorrectly.”
under Florida, mandatory evacuations are under progress.
Residents have been busy getting ready for Hurricane Helene as it approaches the Sunshine State, with state and local authorities starting to declare emergencies and issue mandatory evacuation orders.
In order to assist agencies in getting ready for the impending hurricane, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order establishing a state of emergency for 61 of the state’s 67 counties.
Orders for mandatory evacuation have been issued from the Panhandle to Southwest Florida along Florida’s Gulf Coast.
It is not just anticipated that Helene would bring issues for Florida. As Helene pushes further inland, tropical storm-force winds could result in power outages throughout the Southeast. Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia announced a state of emergency on Tuesday, and President Joe Biden authorized federal help for the state.
Helene will bring rain to the Southeast as well.
“The other unique thing about big storms is they can hang on to that momentum and carry that momentum farther inland, both the wind and in this case, the rain,” Rhome stated. “Look how far inland it reaches, all the way up into Atlanta, to upstate South Carolina and possibly even western North Carolina could feel significant impacts from this system down the line.”
Where are Tropical Storm Helene watches and advisories in effect?
There are hurricane and storm surge warnings in effect for Florida’s Gulf Coast.
There is a storm surge warning in effect for Florida, encompassing Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor, from Flamingo to Indian Pass.
There is a hurricane warning in effect from Florida’s Anclote River to Mexico Beach.
A hurricane warning has been issued by the Mexican government from Cabo Catoche to Tulum.
From the Channel 5 Bridge to the Middle Florida Keys, there is a tropical storm warning in effect. The whole Florida Gulf Coast, west of Mexico Beach to the Walton and Bay County Line, and from Flamingo northward to the Anclote River, which includes Tampa Bay, is under a Tropical Storm Warning.
There is a hurricane watch in place for Tampa Bay, Indian Pass, and Englewood.
According to the present forecast, tropical storm conditions are anticipated in the warning zones starting on Tuesday, and hurricane conditions might occur within the watch areas by early Wednesday.
What is Tropical Storm Helene’s forecast?
The NHC reports that Helene’s highest sustained winds can reach up to 50 mph with much higher gusts.
It is anticipated that the system will continue to move in a northwest direction through Tuesday night, and then accelerate to a north-northeast direction on Wednesday and Thursday.
On Tuesday, Grand Cayman is experiencing high winds and choppy waves.
On Thursday, Helene is predicted to rapidly strengthen over the eastern Gulf of Mexico and strengthen into a powerful hurricane as it moves into the northeastern Gulf Coast. When a storm intensifies quickly, it is said to have undergone rapid intensification. For a tropical cyclone, this means that the storm’s maximum sustained winds must rise by at least 35 mph in a 24-hour period.
Hurricane Tropical Hurricane Helene is expected to bring strong gusts, a lot of rain, the possibility of coastal flooding, flash flooding, and hazardous beach conditions to western Cuba, the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, and the Florida Gulf Coast.
Models indicate that a better-defined core should form, and the NHC says that as the system advances across the Gulf of Mexico and could make landfall in Florida on Thursday, conditions are ideal for rapid strengthening. The NHC predicts that Helene will intensify into a hurricane on Wednesday and that it may become a major hurricane on Thursday.
Beginning on Wednesday and lasting through Friday, a lot of rain is expected to move from the Gulf Coast into the Southeast of the United States, perhaps resulting in flash and river floods.
To collect more atmospheric data, National Weather Service locations in the Southeast and South launched an additional weather balloon early on Tuesday morning. The balloons can soar up to 20 miles above the ground before popping, measuring temperature, dew point, relative humidity, air pressure, wind direction, and speed.
The accuracy of our forecast models depends on meteorologists and the computers that create them being able to access up-to-date real-time meteorological data from the upper atmosphere, which can be obtained by launching additional balloons.
As Hurricane Helene gets closer to the United States, the NWS is requesting that 18 of its offices in the area continue to double their balloon launches, to happen every 6 hours instead of every 12 hours, during the week.
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Melissa’s career in writing started more than 20 years ago. Today, she lives in South Florida with her husband and two boys.
