CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Helene The storm strengthened into a Category 4 storm before expected to make landfall on Florida's northwest coast Thursday evening, forecasters warned the huge system could create a “nightmare” storm surge and bring damaging winds and rain to much of the southeastern United States

Helene demanded Hurricane and flash flood warnings extends far beyond the coast into northern Georgia and western North Carolina. Strong winds in Florida have already knocked out power to more than 600,000 homes and businesses, according to tracking site poweroutage.us. The governors of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas and Virginia all declared states of emergency in their states.

The eye of the hurricane was located about 90 miles (145 kilometers) south of Tallahassee, Florida, and had sustained winds of 140 mph (225 km/h), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. It was moving north-northeast at 24 mph (39 km/h) and life-threatening storm surges of up to 20 feet (6 meters) were expected in the Big Bend area of ​​Florida.

The National Weather Service in Tallahassee issued an “Extreme Wind Warning” for the Big Bend as the eyewall approached: “Treat this warning like a tornado warning,” one post said on down!”

Helene was barely a year ago Hurricane Idalia crashed into Florida's Big Bend and caused extensive damage. Idalia became a Category 4 in the Gulf of Mexico, but made landfall near Keaton Beach as a Category 3 with maximum sustained winds of about 125 miles per hour (205 km/h).

The Wrath of the Storm was felt widely, with persistent tropical storm-force winds and hurricane-force winds along Florida's west coast. Water flooded a road in Siesta Key near Sarasota and covered some intersections in St. Pete Beach. Wood and other debris from a fire in Cedar Key a week ago fell ashore in rising waters.

Beyond Florida, up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain had fallen in the mountains of North Carolina, with up to 14 inches (36 centimeters) more possible before the deluge ends, setting the stage for flooding that forecasters warned could be worse than anything else seen in the last century.

Heavy rains began and winds increased in Valdosta, Georgia, near the state line with Florida. More than a dozen Georgia counties could experience hurricane-force winds of more than 110 miles per hour, according to the weather service.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said models suggest Helene will make landfall further east than previously forecast, reducing the chance of a direct hit on the capital, Tallahassee, whose metropolitan area has about 395,000 residents.

The shift puts the storm directly at the sparsely populated Big Bend area, home to fishing villages and resort towns where Florida's panhandle and peninsula meet.

“Please write your name, birthday and important information on your arm or leg with a permanent marker so you can be identified and your family notified,” the sheriff's office in predominantly rural Taylor County warned those refusing to evacuate decided in a Facebook post postthe dire advice similar to that given by other officials during previous hurricanes.

Still, Philip Tooke, a commercial fisherman who took over the business his father founded near the region's Apalachee Bay, planned to weather this storm as he did during it Hurricane Michael and the others – on his boat. “If I lose this, I have nothing,” Tooke said. Michael, a Category 5 storm, almost completely destroyed a city, destroyed thousands of homes and businesses and caused around $25 billion in damage when it hit the Florida Panhandle in 2018.

However, many adhered to their duty Evacuation orders which extended from the Panhandle south along the Gulf Coast in low-lying areas around Tallahassee, Gainesville, Cedar Key, Lake City, Tampa and Sarasota.

Among them was Sharonda Davis, one of several who had gathered at a Tallahassee shelter fearing their mobile homes would not be able to withstand the wind. She said the size of the hurricane was “more frightening than anything else because it's the consequences that we're facing.”

As the weather service predicted, federal authorities sent search and rescue teams to the country Storm surges of up to 20 feet (6 meters) and warned that they could be particularly “catastrophic and unsurvivable” in Apalachee Bay.

“Please, please, please take all evacuation orders seriously!” The office said the surge scenario was “a nightmare.”

Known as the “Forgotten Coast,” this stretch of Florida has been largely spared from the widespread condominium development and commercialization that dominates so many Florida beach communities. The region is known for its natural wonders – extensive salt marshes, tide pools and barrier islands.

“If you live down here, you're at risk of losing everything in a bad storm,” said 20-year-old Anthony Godwin, who lives about a half-mile from the water in the coastal town of Panacea, as he stopped to refuel before heading west toward the house drove to his sister in Pensacola.

School districts and several universities have canceled classes. Airports in Tampa, Tallahassee and Clearwater were closed Thursday, while there were widespread cancellations elsewhere in Florida and beyond.

While Helene is likely to weaken as it moves inland, damaging winds and heavy rains are expected to spread into the southern Appalachians, where landslides are possible, forecasters said. The hurricane center warned that there could be extended power outages and flooding across much of the region. Tennessee was among the states where flooding was expected.

Helene had flooded parts of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula On Wednesday, the water flooded streets and toppled trees as it passed the coast and hit the resort town of Cancun. In western Cuba, Helene knocked out power to more than 200,000 households and businesses as she flew past the island.

Hurricane conditions are expected in areas 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of the Georgia-Florida line. The state opened its parks to evacuees and their pets, including horses. Nighttime curfews have been imposed in many cities and counties in South Georgia.

“This is one of the biggest storms we’ve ever had,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said.

For Atlanta, Helene could be the worst impact in a major southern city in 35 years, said Marshall Shepherd, a meteorology professor at the University of Georgia.

Helene is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year because of the record warm sea temperatures.

Further storm activity saw Tropical Storm Isaac form in the Atlantic on Wednesday and could strengthen as it moves eastward over the open ocean, potentially becoming a hurricane by the end of the week, forecasters said. Officials said the waves and winds could affect parts of Bermuda and eventually the Azores through the weekend.

In the Pacific, former Hurricane John The storm strengthened into a tropical storm on Wednesday and re-strengthened into a hurricane on Thursday as it threatened areas on Mexico's west coast with flash floods and mudslides. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador raised John's death toll to five as communities along the country's Pacific coast prepared for the storm to make landfall a second time.

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Hollingsworth reported from Kansas City, Missouri. Associated Press journalists Seth Borenstein in New York; Jeff Amy in Atlanta; Russ Bynum in Valdosta, Georgia; Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Andrea Rodríguez in Havana; Mark Stevenson and María Verza in Mexico City; and Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report.