Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend area as massive Category 4 storm late Thursday and left a huge swath of damage all along Florida’s Gulf Coast from Tampa Bay northward.
Almost 1.2 million customers were without power in the state Friday morning, according to the poweroutage.us, including more than 38,000 in Central Florida. While far away from Helene’s eye, a wind gust of 67 mph was reported at Orlando International Airport and 63 mph at Orlando Executive Airport overnight.
Orange County Fire and Rescue said it’s deploying members to Pasco County to help with flooding and damage there. “In the early morning hours of Friday, Sept. 27- Task Force 4 received orders for immediate deployment to Pasco County. They were then sent to Tampa, where they remain now, to assist with water rescues,” it posted on X, formerly Twitter. Seminole County Fire was also sending 10 members
Safe travels to all of Task Force 4. Seminole County Fire has 10 members on deployment with the team. https://t.co/F2hzayO1GV
— Seminole County Fire Department (SCFD) PIO Media (@scfdpio) September 27, 2024
Record-setting storm surge was reported across the Tampa Bay area as well as northward to the Big Bend, with flooding reported in Cedar Key and another coastal areas.
Across St. Petersburg, stunning images emerged early Friday morning of flooding unlike previous storms. In Shore Acres, water levels had nearly reached stop signs; in downtown St. Petersburg, bay waters kissed The Vinoy; and in Gulfport, the small seaside town’s downtown was awash with debris from tidal flooding.
From those stuck on the roads or in their homes, residents in St. Petersburg repeated the same sentiment: They’d never seen water so high.
This is a house in Venetian Isles St Petersburg. #hurricanehelene #Hurricane pic.twitter.com/46t5QqJTF5
— Wiezguy (@Wiezguy) September 27, 2024
A tidal gauge at Albert Whitted Airport showed flooding peaked at 12:24 a.m. Friday, 6.3 feet above an average high tide. The mark set a new record at the location — more than 2 feet higher than during Hurricane Elena in 1985 or Hurricane Idalia in 2023
Late Thursday, police had blocked off Shore Acres, the lowest lying neighborhood in St. Petersburg.
One person was killed in Florida when a sign fell on their car on Interstate 4 in Tampa, and two people were reported killed in a possible tornado in south Georgia as the storm approached.
See The Situation around Tampa General Hospital .
It seems that Hospital is in the middle of Sea.
Water lavel is very High ..
This Devastation is Heart broking.#Hurricane #hurricanehelene #FloridaStorm #Helene #HurricaneHelen #Helene2024pic.twitter.com/xH0AatEPic
— NonStop Satire(व्यंग) (@NonStopSatire) September 27, 2024
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“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.
Video posted on social media showed devastating storm surge around Cedar Key, with debris floating in high water, homes flooded and waves still coming into town.
The storm surge is obliterating Cedar Key with terrifying, unstoppable power! Lives are in grave danger — get to safety now!
: Jonathan Petramala#Helene #HurricaneHelene #Hurricane #CedarKey #FLwx #Florida #StormSurge
— Sushant Kumar (@sushantkumar67) September 27, 2024
: Jonathan PetramalaThe situation was similar north of Cedar Key in Steinhatchee, where 10-12 foot storm surge was reported. Video posted to social media showed waters knocking homes off their foundations, leaving them to float in the storm surge.
Insane moments as one of many smaller homes float away in Steinhatchee, FL. Footage available for licensing. Contact me at
rigsbysuniquephotography@gmail.com #FLwx #helene @NBCNews @CBS @weatherchannel pic.twitter.com/0MTPzFlK0z
— Aaron Rigsby (@AaronRigsbyOSC) September 27, 2024
By morning light, video showed some homes destroyed there.
Morning light revealing extensive storm surge damage in Steinhatchee. We estimate peak surge here was at least 10-12 feet. #Helene #flwx pic.twitter.com/bkSQpG37BL
— Max Olson (@MesoMax919) September 27, 2024
The storm made landfall in the sparsely-populated Big Bend area, home to fishing villages and vacation hideaways where Florida’s Panhandle and peninsula meet.
The hurricane center said Helene made landfall around 11:10 p.m. Thursday near the mouth of the Aucilla River in the Big Bend area of Florida’s Gulf Coast. It had maximum sustained winds estimated at 140 mph. That location was only about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of where Hurricane Idalia came ashore last year at nearly the same ferocity and caused widespread damage.
The town of Perry felt the full brunt of Helene’s eye wall and strongest winds.
WATCH: @weatherchannel meteorologist @TWCchriswarren shows what it
looked like in Perry, Florida as Hurricane Helene
moved onshore as a Category 4 storm. #hurricane #HurricaneHelene #florida pic.twitter.com/Ib9CYA9nZ8— Pattrn (@pattrn) September 27, 2024
The hurricane’s eye then passed near Valdosta, Georgia, as the storm churned rapidly north into Georgia Thursday night. The National Hurricane Center issued an extreme wind warning for the area, meaning possible hurricane-force winds exceeding 115 mph.
Beyond Florida, up to 10 inches of rain had fallen in the North Carolina mountains, with up to 14 inches (36 centimeters) more possible before the deluge ends, setting the stage for flooding that forecasters warned could be worse than anything seen in the past century.
Heavy rains began falling and winds were picking up earlier Thursday in Valdosta, Georgia, near the Florida state line. The weather service said more than a dozen Georgia counties could see hurricane-force winds exceeding 110 mph.
In south Georgia, two people were killed when a possible tornado struck a mobile home on Thursday night, Wheeler County Sheriff Randy Rigdon told WMAZ-TV. Wheeler County is about 70 miles (113 kilometers) southeast of Macon.
The Associated Press and Tampa Bay Times contributed to this report.