A massive Hurricane Helene is forecasted to make landfall in Florida as a significant storm.

 An enormous Hurricane Helene inundated parts of Mexico on Wednesday as it moved toward Florida, where it is expected to make landfall as a potentially catastrophic storm. The threat of a storm surge capable of swallowing entire homes prompted residents to seek higher ground, leading to school closures and states of emergency across the Southeast.

According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, Helene’s center was located about 430 miles (735 kilometers) southwest of Tampa. The storm is anticipated to strengthen and accelerate as it crosses the Gulf of Mexico, heading toward Florida's Big Bend area. Forecasters predict it could reach Category 4 status with winds exceeding 129 mph (208 kph) by Thursday evening.

Tropical storm conditions were forecasted for southern Florida Wednesday night, with impacts expected to spread northward across the state and into Georgia and South Carolina by Thursday night. As of Wednesday evening, the storm was moving north at 12 mph (19 kph) with sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph). Helene could produce a life-threatening storm surge of up to 20 feet (6.1 meters) in parts of the Big Bend region. Its tropical storm-force winds extended as far as 345 miles (555 kilometers) from its center, with the fast-moving storm likely causing extensive inland damage. The hurricane center issued warnings well into Georgia and tropical storm alerts as far north as North Carolina, cautioning that prolonged power outages, fallen trees, and severe flooding could affect much of the Southeast.

“Just hope and pray that everybody’s safe,” said Connie Dillard from Tallahassee, as she shopped at a grocery store with dwindling supplies of water and bread before evacuating. An insurance firm, Gallagher Re, estimated billions of dollars in potential damages in the U.S. Approximately 18,000 linemen from other states were staged in Florida, prepared to assist with power restoration. Airports in St. Petersburg, Tallahassee, and Tampa planned to close on Thursday, and 62 hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities evacuated residents on Wednesday.

Georgia activated 250 National Guard soldiers for rapid deployment, while state game wardens, foresters, and correction teams prepared for swift-water rescues and other emergency responses.

State meteorologist Will Lanxton noted that tropical storm-force winds are expected throughout Georgia, emphasizing that metro Atlanta hasn’t experienced sustained winds like this since Hurricane Irma in 2017. “I think we’re going to see some significant power outages, probably more extensive than we’ve seen, as it covers 159 counties,” said James Stallings, director of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency.

In Tallahassee, where gas stations began to run low on fuel, 19-year-old Florida A&M student Kameron Benjamin filled sandbags with his roommate to protect their apartment before evacuating, as both their school and Florida State University closed.