Follow Hurricane Helene's path to the Alabama-Florida border

Hurricane Helene continues to strengthen and is expected to make landfall in the Florida Big Bend as a major hurricane Thursday evening, the National Hurricane Center said Thursday.

As of the NHC's report at 11 a.m. ET, the storm was located about 255 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of about 105 mph. The storm is currently moving north-northeast at a speed of about 14 mph (22 km/h), the NHC said.

The storm is expected to exhibit a “significant increase in forward velocity” over the next 24 hours and, after making landfall, is expected to turn northwest on Friday and Saturday, slowing over the Tennessee Valley.

The storm will impact Alabama through Thursday with marine and coastal impacts including “dangerously high surf, potentially minor coastal flooding and deadly rip currents,” as well as strong winds and high waves, the National Weather Service in Mobile said Thursday morning.

“We will keep an eye on the potential for heavy rainfall that could impact portions of south-central Alabama and the western Florida panhandle,” NWS forecasters said in a forecast Thursday. “Gusty northerly winds could also primarily impact south-central Alabama, the western Florida panhandle and coastal areas on Thursday due to the large wind field associated with the system.”

The NWS also said it is alert to the possibility of minor coastal flooding, particularly Thursday night.

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Hurricane Helene Tracker

Hurricane Helene spaghetti models

The figures cover a range of forecasting tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center only uses the four or five best-performing models in its forecasts.

Hurricane Helene live stream

Gabe Hauari is a nationally featured news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].

Hurricane Helene Tracker

Hurricane Helene spaghetti models

Hurricane Helene live stream

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