Hurricane Helene in Georgia: See tracker, projected path, forecast info as storm approaches
Hurricane Helene is forecasted to make landfall in the Florida Panhandle Thursday night as a major hurricane, potentially as powerful as Category 3 or higher, before ripping through Georgia, meteorologists say.
More than 42 million people across the Southeast are under hurricane and tropical storm warnings, according to the National Weather Service, as the storm approaches landfall somewhere in Florida's Big Bend region late Thursday.
After making landfall, its path is expected to move into Georgia, where significant impacts from the storm are expected to be seen throughout the state and into north and central Georgia, according to the National Weather Service Office in Atlanta. Gov. Brian Kemp issued a state of emergency to expedite recovery resources in wake of the storm.
Significant storm surge and coastal flooding are expected in the Peach State with portions of Savannah possibly seeing flooding from Thursday night into Friday. North and central Georgia could see flooding, damaging wind gusts that will lead to power outages and even short-lived tornadoes.
On Thursday morning, the service issued a tornado watch for parts of Georgia and South Carolina until 9 p.m. ET. The area under the watch encompasses Savannah, Charleston and Columbia.
Finish your preparations now, NWS says
Impacts of the storm are expected to start Thursday afternoon and meteorologists say will peak from Thursday night into Friday. If preparations for the storm are not yet complete, officials warn that they need to be done immediately.
On Wednesday afternoon, a dire warning was issued by the National Weather Service warning residents across Georgia, Florida and South Carolina that inland flooding could be a deadly factor even after the initial hurricane passes.
"NOAA’s National Weather Service is alerting communities that Helene’s flooding rainfall and high winds won’t be limited to the Gulf Coast and are expected to travel hundreds of miles inland," the release said.
The service warned that major flood risks outside of Florida could include areas around metro Atlanta and western North Carolina.
Hurricane Helene tracker
Georgia Weather alerts
This story was updated to add new information.
Contributing: Gabe Hauari, Dinah Voyles Pulver
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Helene in Georgia: Tracker, projected path, latest forecast