Hurricane Helene made landfall late Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane in the Florida Big Bend, leaving flooding, damage and destruction along Florida’s Gulf Coast before barreling north into Georgia overnight.

There were 1.2 million power customers in Florida who woke up in the dark early Friday morning to deal with what is now the aftermath of the fast-moving tropical cyclone. Power outages are just a few of the many problems Helene has left for the residents of Florida.

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On Friday morning, Hurricane Helene weakened to a Category 1 hurricane and became a strong tropical storm in the Atlanta area.

Helene made landfall with winds of 140 mph (230 km/h) in Taylor County, Florida, just east of the mouth of the Aucilla River, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west-southwest of Perry, Florida. This is another major blow near where Hurricanes Debby and Idalia made landfall the past two Augusts.

This storm, like the two other recent storms that hit Florida’s Big Bend, spared another head-on impact on the state capital Tallahassee.

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Hurricane Helene’s landfall is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of where Hurricane Idalia made landfall in August 2023.

Hurricane Isaac formed Thursday and is located in the mid-Atlantic Ocean and is heading generally eastward, far from the United States.

Another system is Invest 98L, in the eastern and central tropical Atlantic Ocean, which has a 90 percent chance of forming in the next 48 hours.

The National Weather Service forecast outlook describes showers and thunderstorms associated with an area of ​​low pressure, halfway between the Cape Verde Islands and the Lesser Antilles, that remains well organized.

Environmental conditions are conducive to further development and a tropical depression or storm could form at any time today with the system generally moving westward to west-northwestward at a speed of 10 to 15 miles per hour. The system is expected to slow and turn northwest this weekend.

Perry is located on Florida’s Gulf Coast, in the Big Bend region.

Florida’s “Big Bend” is located in the bend of the Florida Peninsula around the Gulf of Mexico. The area includes Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie and Levy counties and is largely “untamed coastal landscape,” according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Perry is located about 50 miles from Tallahassee, the capital of Florida.

– Grace Pateras and C.A. Bridges

Hurricane Helene made landfall near Perry, Florida, as a Category 4 storm

Helene is the strongest hurricane ever to make landfall along Florida’s Big Bend, recorded since 1851. That surpasses the previous record for the region set by the Cedar Key hurricane in 1896, with winds of 125 miles per hour, said Phil Klotzbach, a senior researcher. scientist at Colorado State University.

– Dinah Pulver

Where is Helene going?

The effects of Hurricane Helene before landfall in Florida

Drone video of the Steinhatchee River before Hurricane Helene on September 26

An overhead view of the Steinhatchee River before Hurricane Helene on September 26, 2024 in Steinhatchee, Florida.

Matlacha Bridge: Hurricane Helene barrels up Matlacha Pass near Pine Island

Hurricane Helene rages over the Matlacha Pass near the Matalacha Bridge on Thursday, September 26.

Weather radar Florida

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