Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned residents to make final preparations Wednesday before Hurricane Helene makes landfall in the Panhandle as a Category 1 to 4 hurricane in the next one to two days.

The governor urged coastal communities to comply with evacuation orders, saying residents would not have to travel hundreds of miles from their homes but could simply seek higher ground at an emergency shelter, hotel or a friend's home.

“Models vary as to potential intensity, but it is clear that the storm will rapidly intensify before landfall,” DeSantis said at a press conference in Tampa.

As of Wednesday morning, 61 of Florida's 67 counties were under a state of emergency, and three other counties were under warnings or watches. The vaccine's landfall is expected in North Florida on Thursday evening, DeSantis said.

Impacts could be felt within 250 miles (402.34 kilometers) of the storm's center, and some outer bands were already being felt in the Florida Keys Wednesday morning, said Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.