Tropical Storm Helene strengthens as hurricane warnings cover parts of Florida and Mexico

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and LUIS ALBERTO CRUZ

Tropical Storm Helene was rapidly strengthening in the Caribbean Sea and expected to become a hurricane Wednesday while moving north along Mexico’s coast toward the U.S., prompting residents to evacuate, schools to close and officials to declare emergencies in Florida and Georgia.

The storm is forecast to be “near hurricane strength” when it passes near Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula early Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said, and to “intensify and grow in size” as it moves north across the Gulf of Mexico. Heavy rainfall was forecast for the southeastern U.S. starting Wednesday, with a “life-threatening storm surge” along the entire west coast of Florida, according to the center.

Forecasters warned of the possibility of tornadoes Wednesday night over parts of the western Florida peninsula and southern Alabama, and said the tornado risk would increase Thursday, expanding across Florida and into parts of Georgia and South Carolina.

Helene is expected to become a major hurricane — a Category 3 or higher — on Thursday, the day it’s set to reach Florida’s Gulf Coast, according to the hurricane center. The center has issued hurricane warnings for part of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and Florida’s northwestern coastline, where large storm surges of up to 15 feet (4.5 meters) were expected.

In Mexico Beach, along the Gulf Coast in Florida’s Panhandle, Hal Summers said he’s taking no chances, and is heading inland to stay with a friend.

The restaurant worker said he barely survived Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 hurricane, that struck Mexico Beach in 2018. That storm rapidly intensified and caught residents off guard before plowing a destructive path across the western Florida Panhandle. He recalled wading through rising water with his cat in his arms to get to safety. His home was destroyed.

“That was such a traumatic experience that that is not the place I needed to be for myself,” Summers said.

Mexico is still reeling from former Hurricane John battering its other coast. John hit the country’s southern Pacific coast late Monday, killing two people, blowing tin roofs off houses, triggering mudslides and toppling scores of trees, officials said Tuesday.

John grew into a Category 3 hurricane in a matter of hours Monday and made landfall about 80 miles (128 kilometers) east of the resort of Acapulco, near the town of Punta Maldonado, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (193 kph) before weakening to a tropical storm after moving inland.

Helene, which formed Tuesday in the Caribbean, is expected to move over deep, warm waters, fueling its intensification. People in regions under hurricane warnings and watches should be prepared to lose power and should have enough food and water for at least three days, forecasters warned.