Hurricane Helene Hits Georgia as a Tropical Storm After Slamming Big Bend

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Hurricane Helene is one of the largest storms in the Gulf of Mexico in the last century, with a wind field that could span roughly the distance between Indianapolis and Washington, DC. Watches and warnings are in place for 60 million people in 12 states.

Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane and is now a tropical storm. It was the strongest hurricane on record to slam into Florida’s Big Bend.

Helene weakened to a tropical storm as it barreled through Georgia early Friday, though it was still unleashing a life-threatening storm surge, winds and flooding rain hours after the devastating landfall in the Big Bend coast of Florida.

It hit land at about 11:10 p.m. ET near Perry, Florida, with 140 mph winds, making it the first known Category 4 storm to hit Florida’s Big Bend region since records began in 1851.

For several hours, the storm maintained hurricane strength as it pushed inland across northern Florida and into Georgia by 5 a.m. ET, the National Hurricane Center said Helene was a tropical storm with sustained winds of 70 mph. It was located 40 miles east of Macon, Georgia, and 100 miles southeast of Atlanta and was racing north at 30 mph.

This man and his dog were saved after his 36-foot sailboat became disabled 25 miles from Sanibel Island.

NEW: Florida man Matthew Heller films himself in his kayak in his living room as hurricane Helene intensifies.


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