TALLAHASSEE – Governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday extended a declared emergency to 61 of the state’s 67 counties, excluding only a few counties in southeast Florida, as Tropical Storm Helene is moving toward Florida and is expected to quickly develop into a powerful hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday.

Ahead of the storm's forecast arrival in the Panhandle, Florida State University and Florida A&M University will close their campuses on Wednesday.

“I think the fact that this was forecast as a major (hurricane) at this point without one forming shows that this has the potential to be a really, really significant storm,” DeSantis said during a news conference at the state Emergency Operations Center.

He expanded the list to include 41 counties. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties are not on the list.

Later Tuesday, President Joe Biden approved Florida's emergency declaration and directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate all disaster relief efforts. The emergency declaration includes assistance and reimbursement for mass care, including evacuation and shelter assistance.

A tropical storm warning was issued at 5 p.m. Tuesday for Lake Okeechobee and the Palm Beach-Martin County line northwest to the Savannah River.

In Monroe County, a tropical storm warning is in effect for the Dry Totugas and the Lower and Middle Keys west of the Channel 5 Bridge.

A period of rapid intensification is expected from Wednesday morning into Thursday afternoon. The latest forecast calls for the storm to become a major hurricane, making landfall on the Nature Coast late Thursday. The forecast cone remains focused on this area, but the storm center is somewhere between Panama City and Tampa.

“It will be a hurricane, at least a Category 1, possibly a Category 2. Will it get any stronger? That remains to be seen,” said Felecia Bowser, meteorologist at the National Weather Service Tallahassee. “We'll get that kind of clarification in the next day or two, then we'll be able to see if we're dealing with a major hurricane.”

Storm surge, wind and rain will affect areas far from the center of the stormespecially east of its eye.

The area where the storm makes landfall could see 4 to 8 inches of rainfall, with isolated rainfall as high as 12 inches. Parts of northern Florida were hit by Hurricane Idalia last year and Hurricane Debby last month – both of which made landfall in Taylor County in the Big Bend.

A storm surge of 10 to 15 feet is expected near the storm center, with lesser amounts further south of the forecast storm center. A storm surge of 5 to 8 feet is expected in the Keys, in addition to tropical storm conditions.

Under DeSantis' order, Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Division of Emergency Management, was put in charge of the state's response, including coordinating efforts with utilities, neighboring states and the federal government.

DeSantis' order also activated the Florida National Guard and the Florida State Guard.

About 18,000 utility workers are already being prepared, DeSantis said.

On Monday, Attorney General Ashley Moody activated the state's price gouging hotline for those areas where a state of emergency has been declared.

The list includes Charlotte, Collier and Lee counties in southwest Florida, as well as Okeechobee County.

The order also included Alachua, Baker, Bay, Bradford, Brevard, Calhoun, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Glades, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Nassau, Okaloosa, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole , St. Johns, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton and Washington.

Helene is moving northwest but is forecast to turn north as it moves through the Yucatan Channel into the southern Gulf of Mexico.

From there, conditions in the Gulf of Mexico are favorable for significant strengthening, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Florida State University's Tallahassee campus will close at 7 a.m. Wednesday and remain closed until 11 p.m. Sunday. For those remaining on campus, campus housing operations will continue throughout the closure.

Florida State has not yet announced whether its travel schedule will change for Saturday's game at Southern Methodist.

Florida A&M has canceled classes from 12:15 p.m. Tuesday through 12:15 p.m. Friday. Campus operations will be closed Wednesday through Friday.

Florida A&M University, also in Tallahassee, has postponed its upcoming college football game against Alabama A&M. The Rattlers have rescheduled the game for Friday, November 29.

There were seven more named storms this year.

In addition to Hurricanes Idalia and Debby making landfall in the Big Bend this year, Hurricane Michael brought sustained winds of 160 mph (257 km/h) near Mexico Beach in October 2018 and caused extensive damage in the Panhandle.