Hurricane Helene downgraded to tropical storm; 6 dead, 3M without power
The Category 4 storm made landfall near Perry, Florida
ATLANTA -- At least 6 people have died from Hurricane Helene, which has weakened to a tropical storm Friday as it moves inland through Georgia.
Helene continues to weaken while moving further inland over Georgia. The storm was about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Macon and about 100 miles (165 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta, moving north at 30 mph (48 kph) at 5 a.m., the center in Miami reported.
The monster storm churned across Florida, Georgia and into North Carolina, leaving at least six people dead and millions without power across the Southeast. Significant flooding was reported across the region, with more rain expected Friday as Helene moves toward Tennessee.
The storm made landfall Thursday night in Florida's Big Bend region as a Category 4 storm. Forecasters had warned that the enormous system could create a "nightmare" storm surge and bring dangerous winds and rain across much of the southeastern U.S.
The storm was about 100 miles from Augusta and 40 miles from Macon moving at about 30 mph, the hurricane center said in a 4 a.m. update.
Hurricane warnings and tropical storm warnings remain in effect through the early morning hours of Friday.
The storm is expected to continue to slow and weaken on Friday, turning northwestward to move through Georgia toward the Tennessee-North Carolina border, the National Hurricane Center said.
Its sustained winds dropped to 90 mph, with further weakening expected through to 5 a.m. ET.
Helene is maintaining speed at around 26 mph, heading north-northeast through central Georgia.
Helene death toll rises to 6
At least six people have died as Hurricane Helene slams the South.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, one person was killed and another was injured when a tree fell on a house, according to the Mecklenburg EMS Agency.
Four people were killed during Hurricane Helene's passage into Georgia overnight.
In south Georgia, two people were killed when a possible tornado struck a mobile home on Thursday night, Wheeler County Sheriff Randy Rigdon told WMAZ-TV. The damage was reported as heavy thunderstorms raked much of the state. Wheeler County is about 70 miles (113 kilometers) southeast of Macon. There has been no word on how the two other people in Georgia died.
Forecaster Dylan Lusk said the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Wheeler County at 8:47 p.m. on Thursday. He said it's one of 12 tornado warnings the office near Atlanta issued for parts of Georgia between 1 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he and his family were "saddened to learn of the loss of two lives in Wheeler County this evening. As we join their families in mourning their deaths, we urge all Georgians to brace for further impact from Helene, remain vigilant and pray for all those affected."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a press conference late Thursday that one person was killed on the I-4 highway near Tampa when a sign fell on a car.
"It just shows you that there are very dangerous conditions out there," DeSantis said.
DeSantis warned Floridians that there may be additional loss of life and property Thursday night and into Friday morning.
"When we wake up in the morning, chances are there will be more fatalities," DeSantis said.
DeSantis said another press conference will be scheduled for the morning.
3 million without power across 4 states
More than 3 million customers are waking up without power across the South Friday morning in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
More than 1 million customers are without power in Florida.
More than 900,000 lost power in Georgia and another 900,000 lost power in South Carolina.
More than 300,000 are without power in North Carolina.
Helene makes landfall in Perry, Florida
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Helene roared ashore around 11:10 p.m. EDT near the mouth of the Aucilla River in the Big Bend area of Florida's Gulf Coast. It had maximum sustained winds estimated at 140 mph ( 225 kph).
Helene prompted hurricane and flash flood warnings extending far beyond the coast up into northern Georgia and western North Carolina. Before it made landfall, strong winds had already cut power to nearly 900,000 homes and businesses in Florida, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us. The governors of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas and Virginia all declared emergencies in their states.
This marks the first Category 4 hurricane to make landfall in Florida's Big Bend Region since at least 1859.
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The National Weather Service in Tallahassee had issued an "extreme wind warning" for the Big Bend as the eyewall approached: "Treat this warning like a tornado warning," it said in a post on X. "Take shelter in the most interior room and hunker down!"
Helene arrived barely a year since Hurricane Idalia slammed into Florida's Big Bend and caused widespread damage. Idalia became a Category 4 in the Gulf of Mexico but made landfall as a Category 3 near Keaton Beach, with maximum sustained winds near 125 mph (205 kph).
The storm's wrath was felt widely, with sustained tropical storm-force winds and hurricane-force gusts along Florida's west coast. Water lapped over a road in Siesta Key near Sarasota and covered some intersections in St. Pete Beach. Lumber and other debris from a fire in Cedar Key a week ago crashed ashore in the rising water.
Beyond Florida, up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain had fallen in the North Carolina mountains, 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 seen in the past century.
Heavy rains began falling and winds were picking up earlier Thursday in Valdosta, Georgia, near the Florida state line. The weather service said more than a dozen Georgia counties could see hurricane-force winds exceeding 110 mph.
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"Please write your name, birthday, and important information on your arm or leg in a PERMANENT MARKER so that you can be identified and family notified," the sheriff's office in mostly rural Taylor County warned those who chose not to evacuate in a Facebook post, the dire advice similar to what other officials have dolled out during past hurricanes.
Still, Philip Tooke, a commercial fisherman who took over the business his father founded near the region's Apalachee Bay, planned to ride out this storm like he did during Hurricane Michael and the others - on his boat. "If I lose that, I don't have anything," Tooke said. Michael, a Category 5 storm, all but destroyed one town, fractured thousands of homes and businesses and caused some $25 billion in damage when it struck the Florida Panhandle in 2018.
Many, though, were heeding the mandatory evacuation orders that stretched 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 gathered at a Tallahassee shelter worried their mobile homes wouldn't withstand the winds. She said the hurricane's size is "scarier than anything because it's the aftermath that we're going to have to face."
Federal authorities were staging search-and-rescue teams as the weather service forecast storm surges of up to 20 feet (6 meters) and warned they could be particularly "catastrophic and unsurvivable" in Apalachee Bay.
"Please, please, please take any evacuation orders seriously!" the office said, describing the surge scenario as "a nightmare."
This stretch of Florida known as the Forgotten Coast has been largely spared by the widespread condo development and commercialization that dominates so many of Florida's beach communities. The region is loved for its natural wonders - the vast stretches of salt marshes, tidal pools and barrier islands.
"You live down here, you run the risk of losing everything to a bad storm," said Anthony Godwin, 20, who lives about a half-mile (800 meters) from the water in the coastal town of Panacea, as he stopped for gas before heading west toward his sister's house in Pensacola.
School districts and multiple universities canceled classes. Airports in Tampa, Tallahassee and Clearwater were closed Thursday, while cancellations were widespread elsewhere in Florida and beyond.
While Helene has weaken as it moves inland, damaging winds and heavy rain were expected to extend to the southern Appalachian Mountains, where landslides were possible, forecasters said. The hurricane center warned that much of the region could experience prolonged power outages and flooding. Tennessee was among the states expected to get drenched.
Helene had swamped parts of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Wednesday, flooding streets and toppling trees as it passed offshore and brushed the resort city of Cancun. In western Cuba, Helene knocked out power to more than 200,000 homes and businesses as it brushed past the island.
Areas 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of the Georgia-Florida line expected hurricane conditions. The state opened its parks to evacuees and their pets, including horses. Overnight curfews were imposed in many cities and counties in south Georgia.
"This is one of the biggest storms we've ever had," said Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
For Atlanta, Helene could be the worst strike on a major Southern inland city in 35 years, said University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd.
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 record-warm ocean temperatures.
In further storm activity, Tropical Storm Isaac formed Wednesday in the Atlantic and was expected to strengthen as it moves eastward across the open ocean, possibly becoming a hurricane by the end of the week, forecasters said. Officials said its swells and winds could affect parts of Bermuda and eventually the Azores by the weekend.
In the Pacific, former Hurricane John reformed Wednesday as a tropical storm and strengthened Thursday back into a hurricane as it threatened areas of Mexico's western coast with flash flooding and mudslides. Mexico 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 a second landfall.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
