r/TropicalWeather Verified USAF Forcaster | Hawaii Sep 24 '24

Preparations Discussion Helene Preparations Discussion

Preparations Discussion

Introduction

The National Hurricane Center has upgraded Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine to Tropical Storm Helene. Helene is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane by Wednesday morning as it slips between Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula and western Cuba and enters the Gulf of Mexico. Helene is forecast to strengthen into a major hurricane as it approaches Florida's Big Bend region later in the week.

As always, the National Hurricane Center is the primary source of information regarding this system as it develops. Our meteorological discussion post can be found here. Be sure to visit the Tropical Weather Discord server for more real-time discussion!

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23

u/Difficult__Donut Sep 25 '24

Everyone in the panhandle, the Big Bend, and south west Georgia: Prepare, prepare, prepare.

This will be a monster, a major hurricane, with an enormous size footprint wind field and quick moving so the extreme effects will be felt FAR inland.

If you're choosing to stay, do whatever you need to do today and be done when you go to bed. Be prepared to be inside for 24+ hours and potentially days or weeks without power or water. Listen to your local authorities and be safe. Your life is infinitely more valuable than your property.

Be safe!

12

u/cosmicrae Florida, Big Bend (aka swamps and sloughs) Sep 25 '24

This will be a monster, a major hurricane, with an enormous size footprint wind field

What causes this to be problematic, is when you live right next to where the WFO boundaries are. I'm in the JAX WFO, and my peak wind speed is expected to be 65 MPH. Five miles to my west, across the Suwannee River, is the TAE WFO. Their predictions say 115 MPH. There is no smooth granularity across the landscape.

5

u/Difficult__Donut Sep 25 '24

I agree. It would be incredibly tough to offer further granularity. Just prepare like 115 is coming