Weather Service Warns Of “Unsurvivable” Storm Surge

September 26, 2024 News, Weather

Sarasota’s ABC affiliate reports:

The National Hurricane Center is reporting that Helene is now a Category 2 Hurricane with maximum sustained wind gusts of 100 MPH.

The storm is currently 320 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida and continuing its trek toward the Big Bend Area where it could make landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, intensified by the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico with little upper level shear.

The NHC says that catastrophic storm surge levels are possible in that location. The entire Suncoast area remains under a tropical storm warning. Tropical storm force winds are capable of arriving Thursday morning, but chances increase greatly in the afternoon.

The Associated Press reports:

Fast-moving Hurricane Helene was advancing Thursday across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida, threatening an “unsurvivable” storm surge in northwestern parts of the state as well as damaging winds, rains and flash floods hundreds of miles inland across much of the southeastern U.S., forecasters said.

As of early Thursday, hurricane warnings and flash flood warnings extended far beyond the coast up into south-central Georgia. The governors of Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia have all declared emergencies in their states.

The National Weather Service office in Tallahassee forecast storm surges of up to 20 feet (6 meters) and warned they could be particularly “catastrophic and unsurvivable” in Florida’s Apalachee Bay. It added that high winds and heavy rains also posed risks.

Officials in Tampa Bay and Big Bend counties have warned that rescue efforts will not be attempted for those who have ignored evacuation orders. 



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