TALAHASSEE, FL – Helene continues to weaken and is now a tropical storm after making landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region late Thursday evening as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, with deadly consequences for the Southeast, including destructive hurricane-force winds, an ‘unsurvivable’ storm surge and heavy, flooding rain.

Helene made landfall about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west-southwest of Perry, Florida, at 11:10 PM ET on Thursday, with impacts felt hundreds of miles away. At least two deaths were reported in Wheeler County, Georgia, where a mobile home was damaged during one of several tornado warnings. In Florida, at least one person was killed in a crash on Interstate 4 in the Tampa area involving a highway sign on a car.

The hurricane’s storm surge was large enough to trigger water rescues from the Big Bend to Southwest Florida, and mobile homes were even said to be floating in the coastal town of Steinhatchee.

Flash flooding now becomes the biggest threat to Helene as it sweeps through the Southeast, while heavy rain lashes parts of Georgia and western Carolina. Early Friday morning, a Flash Flood Emergency was issued for Haywood County in western North Carolina after 6 to 10 inches of rain fell and more was on the way.

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Power outages increase as Helene’s winds batter Florida, Georgia

Florida’s power outages rose to about 1.3 million early Friday morning after wind gusts approached or exceeded hurricane strength. Wind gusts of 90 miles per hour were reported in Perry, Florida, about 10 miles from where Hurricane Helene made landfall. St. Petersburg recorded a gust of 80 mph, while Sarasota saw a gust of 75 mph.

Significant outages are also being reported in Georgia, where more than half a million customers were without power on Friday morning. Winds could reach 100 mph in Alma, 80 mph in Valdosta and 75 mph in Savannah.

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FOX Weather’s Ian Oliver said the wave quickly flooded the streets around St. Pete Beach Thursday evening, when high tide was still several hours away.

And further south, in a community called Sunset Beach, the local fire department said it would no longer respond to calls for help because of the flooding.

Clearwater Beach reported its highest rise since at least the 1993 Superstorm, with levels exceeding 8 feet.

HURRICANE HELENE TRACK: LIVE CONE FORECAST, SPAGHETTI MODELS, WARNINGS, WIND PROJECTION AND MORE

Storm surge remained a serious threat during the system’s passage through the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Due to the storm’s enormous size, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Helene posed a significant risk of life-threatening storm surge along the entire west coast of the Florida Peninsula and the Big Bend region of Florida.

The highest flooding, with as much as six meters of storm surge, was expected from Carrabelle to the Suwannee River in Florida. In other locations, such as Apalachicola and Chassahowitzka, a storm surge of 3 to 4 meters was expected.

“Catastrophic and deadly storm surge is likely along portions of Florida’s Big Bend coast, where flooding could reach as much as 20 feet above ground level, along with destructive waves,” the NHC warned. The National Weather Service in Tallahassee called the expected storm surge in Apalachee Bay “catastrophic and possibly insurmountable.”

Helene’s effects are felt far inland

Helene’s impact will be felt well beyond the Big Bend coastal area, with hurricane-force winds likely across Tallahassee and Georgia as the storm rages inland through Friday morning. The combination of the storm’s speed and size means it will maintain strength further inland than most hurricanes.

Within an hour of landfall, Helene was downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane, but the effects are expected to last for many days.

Several inches of rain will cause widespread and potentially catastrophic flooding across the Southeast.

During the hurricane, the Florida Highway Patrol reported responding to a serious crash along Interstate 4 in Tampa that resulted in a fatality.

In a video from the Florida Department of Transportation, a highway sign appeared to be loose and resting on a car.

Fatal crash reported along Interstate 4 in Tampa.

(FDOT/FOX Weather)

Troopers have not revealed what they believe caused the crash, but encouraged residents to simply stay home until the worst of the weather leaves the region.

WHERE IS HELENE GOING TO FLORIDA? SOUTHEAST, MID ATLANTIC MAY SEE CATASTROPHIC FLOODING