'Extremely Dangerous': Deadly Helene Makes Landfall, 1M+ Power Outages

Updated at 1:40 a.m. Friday

FLORIDA — Power outages topped 1.2 million statewide overnight as the "extremely dangerous" Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm with winds of 140 mph in northern Florida about 11:10 p.m., according to the National Hurricane Center. Helene was later downgraded to a "strong category 2 hurricane" as of 1 a.m. when it moved into Georgia.

As of early Friday morning, there were at least three storm-related deaths. One person was killed in Florida when a sign fell on their car and two people were reported killed in a possible tornado in south Georgia as the storm approached.

“When Floridians wake up tomorrow morning, we’re going to be waking up to a state where very likely there’s been additional loss of life and certainly there’s going to be loss of property," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Thursday night.

Helene produced what the NHC called catastrophic winds that spread onshore in the Florida Big Bend region upon landfall. It marks the strongest storm to hit the area since records first started in 1851, according to USA Today.

"Helene continues to produce catastrophic winds that are now pushing into southern Georgia," the NHC said in its 1 a.m. update. "This is an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation. Persons should not leave their shelters and remain in place through the passage of these life-threatening conditions. When in the eye, people are reminded to not venture out in the relative calm, as hazardous winds will increase very quickly when the eye passes."

Late Thursday, the National Weather Service in Tallahassee 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!”

Meteorologists on TV urged residents to pile mattresses, pillows and other materials between them and outer walls to protect from injury if homes are damaged by the ferocious winds.

Authorities forecast storm surges of up to 20 feet (6 meters) and warned they could be particularly “catastrophic and unsurvivable” in Florida’s Apalachee Bay.

Officials in Taylor County, situated in the path of Helene as it made landfall Thursday night, told residents to write their name on their bodies so they can be identified if injured or killed by the massive storm surge.

"If you or someone you know chose not to evacuate, 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 county sheriff's office posted on Facebook.

According to PowerOutage.US, there were 1,282,585 Florida utility customers without power as of 1:30 am ET Friday.

Due to the storm, 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.

But some chose to ride out the storm.

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.”

Floridians along the state’s west coast — from the Panhandle to the Keys — have spent the past few days preparing for Helene’s projected storm surge, as well as the heavy rains and winds associated with the hurricane.

A Weatherflow station at the entrance to Tampa Bay recently measured a sustained wind of 54 mph and a gust to 68 mph, the National Hurricane Center said at 4 p.m. The Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport recently measured a sustained wind of 43 mph and a gust to 63 mph.

Related:

• ‘You Will Not Survive’: All Residents Of 1 FL County Told To Evacuate
• Sunshine Skyway Bridge Closes As Hurricane Helene Move Toward FL: FHP
• Hurricane Helene: Federal Emergency Declaration Issued For FL

While Helene was expected to weaken as it moves inland Friday, damaging winds and heavy rain were expected to extend to the southern Appalachian Mountains, where landslides were possible, forecasters said. Tennessee was among the states expected to get drenched.

Related Stories:

• Some FL Theme Parks Close As Hurricane Helene Approaches
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• How To Prepare For Hurricane Helene, Cope With Power Outages
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Back in Florida, evacuations have been underway on barrier islands and in low-lying and flood-prone areas along many areas of the coast since Wednesday.

While Helene was expected to bring “catastrophic” wind damage, heavy rainfall that could cause flooding and the potential for tornadoes, the projected storm surge is the “most dangerous” concern associated with this system, the NWS in Tallahassee said.

“There is increasing confidence of catastrophic and/or potentially unsurvivable storm surge for Apalachee Bay,” NWS said before the storm hit, adding, “REMINDER: storm surge DOES NOT include wave action, when including waves on top of storm surge inundation, these values could be higher, potentially allowing for greater inland penetration. The threat to life is significant.”

From Carrabelle to the Suwannee River, 15 to 20 feet of storm surge was expected. From Apalachicola to Carrabelle the surge was expected to be 10 to 15 feet, 6 to 10 feet from Indian Pass to Apalachicola, 3 to 5 feet from Mexico Beach to Indian Pass, and 1 to 3 feet for the other areas of Bay County.

“This forecast, if realized, is a nightmare surge scenario for Apalachee Bay,” the office said. “Please, please, please take any evacuation orders seriously!”

Hurricane warnings and flash flood warnings extended far beyond the coast up into south-central Georgia. The governors of Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia have all declared emergencies in their states.

Though not receiving a direct hit from the hurricane, the greater Tampa Bay area was expected to see a significant storm surge — between 5 and 8 feet from the middle of Longboat Key north to the Anclote River — heavy rains, flooding and potential for tornadoes.

“As we've been saying for a couple of days, I DO NOT believe we will see sustained hurricane force winds in the Bay Area. Gusts of 55-65 along the coast and 40-50 mph inland,” Denis Phillips, chief meteorologist for ABC Action News, wrote in a Facebook post. “The threat of water rise along the coast is BY FAR the biggest concern for the Bay Area. If you don't live on, or near, the water, the surge won't bother you.”

Helene was forecast to be one of the largest storms in breadth in years to hit the region, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. He said since 1988, only three Gulf hurricanes were bigger than Helene’s predicted size: 2017’s Irma, 2005’s Wilma and 1995’s Opal.

Damage from Helene could cost more than from Hurricane Michael, which had a price tag of nearly $1.9 million in federal funding for recovery in October 2018 in 18 U.S. counties.

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.

Paul Dellegato with Fox 13 wrote in a Facebook post, “It will be nasty this (Thursday) afternoon/evening when Helene passes to our west. Heavy rain, storm surge flooding and very gusty winds to hurricane force along our coast.”

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.