Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida late Thursday leaving at least three people dead and 2 million others without power.
Helene hit Florida as a Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph winds. The system has since downgraded to a Category 1 tropical storm with hurricane-force winds as it barrels toward Georgia.
The National Weather Service expected the storm to further weaken as it moves inland. Forecasters are warning of damaging winds as Helene penetrates across the southeastern U.S.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed one storm-related fatality in Tampa while two other fatalities were reported in Wheeler County, Georgia.
More than 2 million customers were left without power across four states overnight.
The storm caused severe flooding in North Carolina early Friday with torrential rainfall of up to 20 inches expected to last through Friday.
“Helene is a very dangerous hurricane and could become a ‘once-in-a-generation storm’ across western South Carolina and North Carolina, as well as northern and eastern Georgia,” AccuWeather senior director of forecasting operations Dan DePodwin said.
