Historic storm surges from Hurricane Helene inundated communities across the state’s Gulf Coast — and more than 2.5 million people across Florida lost power — as the massive Category 4 storm made landfall just after 11 p.

Hurricane Helene, now a Category 2 storm, is expected to make landfall in Florida's Big Bend area, bringing catastrophic storm surge, damaging winds, and potential severe flooding.

Helene steadily strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane early Thursday morning and is poised to strike the northeastern Gulf coast tonight as a major hurricane, bringing catastrophic winds and storm surge into Florida’s Big Bend from east of Apalachicola to Florida’s Nature Coast,

Helene could bring storm surge to the entire west coast — up to 15 feet near landfall in Taylor and Dixie Counties, and up to 8 feet in the Tampa Bay region. Six inches of rain could blanket the west coat, with up to 8 inches near Tampa Bay and the Big Bend area.

Helene becomes a major Category 3 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico as it churns toward northwestern Florida.

After days of brewing in the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Helene is slated to touch down along Florida’s Big Bend coast on Thursday evening as a Category 4 hurricane. The Florida Big Bend, a particular slice of the state’s northwestern coast where Florida’s panhandle region begins to curve around the Gulf of Mexico and transition into the state’s distinct peninsula,

Hurricane Helene strengthened as it entered the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday with the National Hurricane Center forecasting the storm to continue to intensify and strike Florida as a major Category 4 hurricane.