WASHINGTON — The eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season officially formed Tuesday morning. Tropical Storm Helene will pass just east of Cancun, Mexico later Tuesday night as a category 1 hurricane.
The storm is then forecasted to rapidly intensify in the warm Gulf of Mexico and become a major category 3 hurricane by Thursday morning. The National Hurricane Center forecasts a Thursday night landfall in the Florida Panhandle. The trend today has been a shift west, so everyone from the Big Bend of Florida to the panhandle needs to be prepare for potential landfall.
The storm will bring impacts to the entire Florida Gulf Coast starting Wednesday night.
After making landfall, the storm will move through Georgia overnight Thursday into Friday, potentially maintaining Tropical Storm force winds as far inland as Atlanta.
This timing is concerning because in addition to heavy rain and tropical storm force winds overnight, there is also a significant severe weather threat on the right hand side of the storm track.
There is solid agreement among computer models for a landfall in the Florida Panhandle. We are still days away from landfall and the track can certainly change, so be sure to check back in.
Tropical Storm Warnings have been issued for parts of Cuba, the Cayman Islands, parts of Mexico and the lower Florida Keys.
Tropical Storm Watches are in effect for the upper Florida Keys, the south Florida Gulf Coast and parts of the panhandle.
Hurricane Watches have been issued for parts of Mexico near Cancun and much of the Florida Gulf Coast.
