As of 5:20PM CDT on Thursday, Hurricane Helene is now an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds up to 130 mph. Minimum central pressure is now down to 947 mb, signs of continued strengthening before it will make landfall later this evening as a very dangerous storm.
One of the reasons Helene is so dangerous is due to how large the storm is. Tropical storm force winds cover nearly all of Florida, while a pocket of hurricane force winds will be approaching Tallahassee, FL later tonight.
The large diameter of the storm will only make the storm surge worse, with a portion of the FL coastline within the Big Bend currently forecast to see upwards of 12-15 feet of surge, according to the latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center. This is extremely dangerous storm surge, as it could reach up to the second story of buildings in some spots.
Storm surge is already making its way inland well outside the center line of the hurricane's track, given the large diameter of the storm. This is a look from near Tampa Bay, FL just before 6PM Thursday showing some of the storm surge reaching inland.
Another significant impact from Helene will be the very heavy rainfall even well inland. The Weather Prediction Center has placed many areas between the FL Panhandle up to Western portions of North Carolina underneath a HIGH risk for excessive rainfall today and tonight. Some spots within that region could see nearly 5-10" of rainfall. This is going to be especially hazardous in the mountainous regions there, causing potential landslides and significant flooding to areas that rarely see this much rain.
Locally across Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin, we will stay mostly dry with high pressure keeping much of the rain well to our South. Central and Southern Illinois may see an inch or two of rain, but we may only see a few spotty showers Saturday and Sunday. Winds will be our biggest concern, with gusts up to 30 mph Friday afternoon and near 20 mph Saturday into Sunday.
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