MIAMI — Tropical Storm Helene formed Tuesday in the Caribbean Sea and will strengthen into a major hurricane while moving north toward the U.S., forecasters said.
Hurricane watches have been issued for parts of Cuba, Mexico and a stretch of the Florida coastline, including Tampa Bay, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. A tropical storm warning has been issued for parts of the Florida Keys.
The storm was located 170 miles southeast of the western tip of Cuba and had sustained winds of 45 mph. It was expected to strengthen into Hurricane Helene on Wednesday as it approached the Gulf Coast.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in 61 of the state’s 67 counties. He is urging residents across a broad swath of the state to prepare for potentially significant impacts, from the rural Panhandle region down the Gulf Coast to southwest Florida.
“We’re anticipating impacts, I mean, 100, 200 miles outside the eye of the storm, you could see with winds and you could see with surge,” DeSantis said. “We are going to see significant impacts no matter what happens.”
In a Tuesday morning update from the state’s emergency operations center in Tallahassee, DeSantis said it’s telling that forecasters are already projecting the storm system may become a major hurricane — even before it had formed into a tropical storm.
DeSantis said the storm is reminiscent of Hurricane Michael, a category 5 hurricane that rapidly intensified and caught many residents off guard before plowing a path of destruction across the western Panhandle. Communities that are still rebuilding from previous storms could get battered again, DeSantis warned.
“The Big Bend and Panhandle should be especially prepared for direct impact,” DeSantis said.
