Hurricane Helene Forecast To Bring 'Unsurvivable' Storm Surge Up To 20 Feet

The National Weather Service is warning of potentially "catastrophic and unsurvivable" storm surge up to 20 feet beginning as early as midday Thursday in some parts of Florida ahead of Hurricane Helene's landfall in in the evening.

Helene is expected to make landfall on Florida's Gulf coast as a major hurricane, defined as Category 3 or higher. The NWS Tallahassee field office said storm surge impacts will be especially significant for Apalachee Bay and the wider Big Bend region, where the peninsula meets the panhandle on Florida's Gulf Coast.

Evacuations have been ordered for those along the coast in the path of the potentially lethal storm surge, with "destructive waves" exacerbating the surge. The National Weather Service warned that near-shore escape route will quickly become washed out or flooded if people wait too long to leave.

Along with coastal flooding, heavy rain is expected to cause rivers and streams to overflow in multiple places, and to stress flood control systems further inland.