Hurricane Helene has rapidly strengthened as it moves north up the Gulf of Mexico towards the United States, and is forecast to be one of the most dangerous storms in recent history to hit the coast of Florida.
Helene drew more force as it passed over deep, warm waters, fuelling its intensification on Thursday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
Heavy rainfall was forecast for the southeastern US, with a “life-threatening storm surge” along the entire west coast of Florida, according to the NHC.
“As someone who’s issued these forecasts, I assure you the folks at NHC don’t make these changes lightly.
This is as big as it gets,” Michael Lowry, a hurricane specialist and storm surge expert with the local TV news weatherman in Miami, wrote on social media.
Helene is forecast to be one of the largest storms in breadth to hit the region in years, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
He said that since 1988, only three Gulf hurricanes have been bigger than Helene’s predicted size: 2017’s Irma, 2005’s Wilma, and 1995’s Opal.
