Central Florida has already seen a few tornado warnings Thursday as the region and much of the Florida peninsula remains under a tornado watch until 8 p.m. as Hurricane Helene’s far-reaching bands strafe the state.
Tornado Warning including Deltona FL, DeLand FL and Orange City FL until 4:45 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/RqgfkuTOPE
— NWS Tornado (@NWStornado) September 26, 2024
A radar indicated tornado warning was issued at 4:25 until 4:45 p.m. for Volusia County on a path that includes Deltona, DeLand and DeLeon Springs.
With tropical-storm-force winds stretching out 345 miles from its center, the bands have generated more than 30 tornado warnings throughout the day with an outer band rising from South Florida up into east Central Florida in the morning, and moving to the Panhandle and Gulf Coast during the afternoon.
A new outer band was making its way up the East Coast by 4 p.m. as the center of what is now a Category 3 hurricane remains in the Gulf of Mexico as it heads north toward Florida’s Big Bend.
Brevard County and Volusia County were under tornado warnings including Kennedy Space Center.
Strengthening Hurricane Helene targets Florida with ‘catastrophic’ wind, surge and tornado warnings
A warning covering New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater and Glencoe was issued at 10:30 a.m. lasting until 11 a.m.
Before that, warnings were issued for Mims in Brevard and Sebastian and Fellsmere near the Brevard-Indian River County border.
The National Weather Service in Melbourne warned conditions will continue to deteriorate throughout the afternoon and into the evening as Hurricane Helene makes its closest approach to Central Florida.
11AM 9/26 | Outer rainbands have begun to push through the local area. Conditions will further deteriorate into this afternoon, as Helene makes its closest approach to east central Florida. Tropical Storm Warnings & a Tornado Watch remain in effect. Stay weather aware today! pic.twitter.com/hnVBVofKNb
— NWS Melbourne (@NWSMelbourne) September 26, 2024
The northern part of the state and southern Georgia is under a tornado watch until 10 p.m.
“Tornados associated with tropical storms and hurricanes can spin up very quickly,” said NHC Director Mike Brennan.
You can follow the National Weather Service’s tornado feed on X at x.com/NWStornado or sign up for alerts on weather applications on your phone.
As of noon, the NWS in Melbourne said Vero Beach had seen a 59 mph wind gust while wind gusts of 43 mph were recorded at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, 41 mph at Daytona Beach International Airport, 38 at Melbourne International Airport and 37 mph at Orlando International Airport.