KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Hurricane Helene swamped parts of Mexico on Wednesday as it churned on a path forecasters said would take it to Florida as a potentially catastrophic storm with a surge that could swallow entire homes.
So, when is Hurricane Helene expected to reach East Tennessee?
Hurricane Helene is expected to make landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida Thursday evening. Thereafter, a track up through Georgia into East Tennessee is expected late Thursday night into Friday morning. By 2 p.m. EDT on Friday, it is expected to cross into Middle Tennessee.
Helene could be a hurricane all the way up near Atlanta, then weaken to a tropical storm through the rest of North Georgia. It will weaken to a tropical depression then remnant Low once it crosses over into East Tennessee.
Landfall was expected in Florida sometime Thursday evening, and the hurricane center said by then it could be a major Category 4 storm with winds above 129 mph.
Tropical storm conditions were expected in southern Florida Wednesday night, spreading northward and encompassing the rest of Florida as well as Georgia and South Carolina through Thursday night. The storm was moving north at 12 mph (19 kph) with top sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph) Wednesday evening.
Helene could create a storm surge as high as 20 feet (6.1 meters) in parts of the Big Bend region, forecasters said. Its tropical storm-force winds extended as far as 345 miles (555 kilometers) from its center.
The fast-moving storm's wind and rain also could penetrate far inland. The hurricane center posted hurricane warnings well into Georgia and tropical storm warnings as far north as North Carolina, and it warned that much of the Southeast could experience prolonged power outages, toppled trees and dangerous flooding.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
