Hurricane Updates

2024

Hurricane Milton

10/10/2024 10:57 am
Hurricane Milton made landfall on Wednesday night as a Category 3 storm and has weakened to a Category 1 as it crossed over Floria and moved offshore. Milton dropped more than 18 inches of rain on St. Petersburg and has knocked at power for more than 3 million people in the state. Sarasota, Fort Meyers, Venice, and other cities on the Gulf Coast were swamped by up to 10 feet of storm surge. Numerous tornadoes inflicted heavy damage to buildings with winds up to 120 mph. At least four people were confirmed killed so far as Florida begins to assess the damage.

10/9/2024 11:14 am
As of 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Hurricane Milton was located at 25.8N and 84.3W, which is about 190 miles southwest of Tampa and is moving northeast at 17 mph. Milton is still a Category 4 storm and is expected to make landfall Wednesday evening in the Manatee/Sarasota County area on Florida’s west coast.

A storm surge warning is in effect for Florida’s west coast from Flamingo northward to Suwannee River, including Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay, as well as the Sebastian Inlet, Florida to Altamaha Sound, Georgia, including the St. Johns River. There is a hurricane warning for Florida’s west coast from Bonita Beach northward to Suwannee River, including Tampa Bay and on Florida’s east coast from the St. Lucie/Martin County Line northward to Ponte Vedra Beach. Hurricane conditions are expected in the hurricane warning area across Florida beginning late Wednesday through early Thursday.

10/8/2024 11:11 am
Milton, centered about 520 miles southwest of Tampa on Tuesday morning, is now a Category 4 Hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph. While it is expected to lose strength and become a Category 3 before it makes landfall, it is forecast to double in size, so its impact will be felt over a much larger area. The hurricane is currently moving at 12 mph and is predicted to make landfall on Wednesday night on Florida’s Central Gulf Coast. Rainfall amounts of 5 to 12 inches, with localized totals up to 18 inches, are expected across central to northern portions of the Florida Peninsula. The National Hurricane Center is warning that the storm, “has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida.”

10/7/2024 3:43 pm
Hurricane Milton has become a Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 175 mph. Milton is now 700 miles from the Florida coast and moving at 9 mph. The National Hurricane Center has issued hurricane watches across portions of Florida and warned of life-threatening storm surge, flooding rain, and damaging winds.

10/7/2024 10:50 am
Hurricane Milton strengthened into a Category 4 storm, with sustained wind of 150 mph. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm is expected to stay at its current strength for the next few day as it heads toward Florida’s Gulf Coast. It is forecast to make landfall on Wednesday, anywhere from Cedar Key in the north and Naples in the south, with Tampa and Ft. Meyers also being possible landfall locations. Rainfall is expected to total 5 – 10 inches, with the potential for 15 inches in some communities. There is also the potential of a deadly storm surge of 8-12 feet along more than 200 miles of coastline.

Hurricane Helene

9/27/2024 11:01 am
Helene made landfall Thursday evening as a Category 4 hurricane in the Big Bend area of Florida. With sustained winds of 140 mph, the storm generated a massive storm surge and knocked out power to millions of customers in several states. Flash flood emergencies are in effect for Atlanta and much of upstate South Carolina and western North Carolina. The National Hurricane Center reported that the storm is “producing historic and catastrophic flooding over portions of the southeast and southern Appalachians.” At least seven people were confirmed dead.

Helene is now centered 105 miles north-northeast of Atlanta and is tracking quickly inland over the Southeast. The greatest flood threat Friday will be from northern Georgia into the southern Appalachians. Rainfall has already triggered catastrophic flooding in this region, and a broad area of the Ohio, Tennessee, and mid-Mississippi valleys could see at least local flash flooding.

9/26/2024 4:14 pm
Hurricane Helene has become a Category 3 hurricane with 120 mph winds and is forecast to impact the Big Bend coast of Florida with record-breaking “unsurvivable” storm surge that could rise 15 to 20 feet above normal tide levels. One of the largest storms in the Gulf Coast in this century, Helene has a huge wind span that will result not only in higher storm surge but also damaging winds, rain and flash floods that will stretch well inland. The storm is expected to make landfall in the Big Bend area Thursday evening as a massive Category 4 hurricane with winds up to 132 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

9/26/2024 10:07 am
As of Thursday morning, Hurricane Helene was a Category 2 storm with 100 mph sustained winds. The storm was located about 320 miles southwest of Tampa and was moving north-northeast at 12 mph. Helene’s hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from its center, and tropical-storm-force winds reach up to 345 miles away, making it a huge storm. While over the Gulf of Mexico, it is expected to intensify to a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 130 – 156 mph and is poised to make landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida on Thursday evening. It is expected to move inland at a high speed, bringing strong winds and rain with the risk of flash flooding, landslides, falling trees and power outages — across the southeastern US, as far north as the Appalachians.

Hurricane warnings are in effect for the Big Bend area to just north of Tampa, and tropical storm warnings are in effect for most of the rest of Florida coastline, except for the western part of the Florida Panhandle. Tropical storm warnings are also in effect for the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina.

9/25/2024 11:00 am
Helene has been upgraded to Category 1 hurricane as of Wednesday morning and is 85 miles northeast of Cozumel, moving northwest at 10 mph with 80 mph winds. The storm is expected to become a massive hurricane, possibly a Category 3 storm with winds reaching over a swath 400 miles wide and is forecast to make landfall along the Big Bend area on Thursday night. There is a storm warning for the Florida Keys and most of Florida’s west coast, with storm surges expected to reach up to 15 feet.

9/24/2024 3:12 pm
Tropical Storm Helene has formed in the Caribbean and could strengthen into a major hurricane. It is 175 miles south of the western tip of Cuba and has sustained winds of 45 mph. It is moving 12 mph and is expected to strengthen into Hurricane Helene on Wednesday as it approaches the northeastern Gulf Coast. It could strengthen into a Category 3 hurricane by Thursday with winds of at least 111 mph.

Hurricane watches have been issued for parts of Cuba, Mexico, and the Florida coastline, including Tampa Bay. A tropical storm warning was issued for Florida’s Dry Tortugas; the lower Florida Keys west of the Seven Mile Bridge; Rio Lagartos to Tulum, Mexico; and the Cuban provinces of Artemisa, Pinar del Rio, and the Isle of Youth. A storm surge watch is in effect for Florida’s Tampa Bay, Charlotte Harbor, and from Indian Pass south to Flamingo.

Hurricane Francine

9/13/2024 9:32 am
Francine is now a tropical depression. At 5 am ET the storm was 90 miles northwest of Memphis with wind speeds of 25 miles per hour.

9/12/2024 1:24 pm
Hurricane Francine made landfall in Terrebonne Parish in southern Louisiana on Wednesday evening as a Category 2 hurricane and quickly weakened into a tropical storm. It was forecast to move over southeastern Louisiana before heading over Mississippi on Thursday. Francine is expected to bring rainfall totals of 4 to 8 inches, with up to 12 inches in some areas of Louisiana and Mississippi on Friday morning.

9/11/2024 10:24 am
Francine is now a Category 1 hurricane heading toward the Louisiana coast. A hurricane watch (hurricane conditions are possible) has been issued for the New Orleans area. A more serious hurricane warning (hurricane conditions are expected) is in effect for the coast west of New Orleans from the Vermilion-Cameron parish line to Grand Isle. The storm could strengthen into a Category 2 before making landfall which is predicted for Wednesday afternoon. Francine is expected to bring up to 8 inches of rainfall to an area already saturated by weeks of rain. Forecasters have singled out Lafayette, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and surrounding areas as most susceptible for flash flooding. A storm surge warning is in effect from Cameron to the Alabama-Mississippi border as well as Lake Maurepas, Lake Pontchartrain, and Vermilion Bay.

9/9/2024 12:53 pm
A hurricane watch has been issued for portions of the Louisiana coast, which means hurricane conditions are possible within the next 48 hours. Tropical Storm Francine, which could form into a Category 1 hurricane by Wednesday, is headed for landfall on the Upper Texas or southwestern Louisiana coast. The system’s center was approximately 480 miles south of Cameron, LA, this (Monday) morning, moving slowly in a north-northwesterly direction at 5 mph with sustained winds of 50 mph.

Tropical Storm Debby

8/9/2024 11:00 am
Debby, now a post-tropical cyclone, continues to move north and dump rain on the mid-Atlantic states. The National Hurricane Center issued an advisory stating there is a “significant flood threat” from the northern mid-Atlantic states into Upstate New York. There is also a risk for tornadoes Friday as the storm moves north into New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and eastern New York.

8/8/2024 12:10 pm
Tropical Storm Debby, with winds up 50 mph, made landfall near Bulls Bay, SC, early today. It is moving slowly and should be passing out of North Carolina tonight or early Friday. Debby has already dumped more than a foot of rain on areas of the South and is expected to drop more, with a high risk for flash flooding in Wilmington, NC, through Roanoke, VA. There is also a tornado watch in effect for much of eastern North Carolina into western Virginia. The National Hurricane Center forecasts that Debby will accelerate toward the north across Eastern South Carolina and central North Carolina tonight, and then move toward the Northeast across the mid-Atlantic states on Friday and into Canada on Saturday.

8/7/2024 2:30 pm
Debby is currently sitting off the coast of South Carolina and has gained strength, jumping from 45 mph to 60 mph. It is expected to head north and make landfall late tonight between Charleston and Myrtle Beach, SC. According to the National Hurricane Center, it could then move up the middle of North Carolina, through Virginia, and into the D.C. area by Saturday, with heavy rainfall of 3-9 inches, storm surges, and flooding along the way.

8/6/2024 1:30 pm
Debby is currently centered near Savannah, GA, heading offshore and is expected to hit land again in South Carolina on Thursday. A tornado watch is in effect until 5 p.m. EDT from the middle South Carolina coast to southeast North Carolina. Debby is expected to produce rainfall of totals of 10 to 20 inches, causing catastrophic flooding across the eastern half of South Carolina and southeast North Carolina through Friday. It is predicted to move through North Carolina to areas in the Mid-Atlantic states where 4 to 8 inches are expected through Sunday morning.

8/5/2024 9:45 am
Hurricane Debby made landfall as a Category 1 storm in Florida’s Big Bend coast early Monday and has moved inland across the Suwannee River Valley of Northeast Florida. It has been downgraded to a tropical storm. It is moving slowly to the north-northeast traveling about 7 mph. Its slow progress is leaving massive rainfall totals along its path. Record-setting rain was forecast for coastal Georgia and South Carolina, with up to 30 inches possible.

8/4/2024 8:13 am
Tropical Storm Debby is located approximately 195 miles southwest of Tampa, FL, with sustained winds of 50 mph. It is moving slowly through the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, tracking up the Florida Peninsula’s western coast and is gaining strength. The slower the storm moves and the longer it sits over warm waters, the more likely the storm could intensify, leading forecasters to predict the storm could peak at a Category 1 hurricane strength just before landfall. Hurricane conditions are expected to move into the Apalachee Bay area of Florida by late Sunday night or Monday morning with the outer bands of the storm system making their way on shore during the day Sunday, according to the Weather Prediction Center.

County and state officials have issued voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders as the hurricane center posted hurricane watches and warnings across several parts of the state, including near Tampa and the Big Bend region.

Hurricane Beryl

7/8/2024 7:54 am
Hurricane Beryl made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane just before 4 am Monday morning near Matagorda, Texas. The storm continues to track toward Houston and is expected to weaken to a tropical storm but is currently causing flash flooding from Galveston to Houston, where 3 to 6 inches have fallen, with an additional 2 to 4 inches expected. The weather service issued flash flood advisories across southeast Texas. Meanwhile, damaging winds of 92 mph were reported in Freeport, a city east of Matagorda.

7/7/2024 12:01 pm
Tropical Storm Beryl is growing stronger as it approaches the Texas coast. It is currently 195 miles southeast of Corpus Christi and moving at 10 mph. The storm is forecast to land as a hurricane on the central Texas coast early Monday. A hurricane warning is in effect from Baffin Bay northward to San Luis Pass, and a storm surge warning has been issued for the north entrance of the Padre Island National Seashore to Sabine Pass, including Corpus Christi Bay, Matagorda Bay, and Galveston Bay.

7/6/2024 11:50 am

Beryl, currently a tropical storm, entered the Gulf of Mexico and was about 460 miles from Corpus Christi, Texas, on Saturday morning. Beryl is expected to strengthen again Sunday ahead of its projected final landfall midday on Monday as a Category 1 hurricane in the vicinity of Corpus Christi. Tropical storm conditions will begin along the western Gulf Coast on Sunday, with hurricane conditions expected later in the day. Storm surge up to 5 feet is forecast for the southern Texas coast. According to the National Hurricane Center, potential rainfall of 5 to 10 inches–with some areas possibly getting up to 15 inches–is forecast for the Texas Gulf Coast and eastern Texas late Sunday through the middle of next week.

7/5/2024 11:45 am
Hurricane Beryl is expected to head past the Cayman Islands today (Thursday) and hit Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula Friday morning. It should then weaken over land and emerge in the Gulf of Mexico. It could potentially track toward Tampico, Mexico. If it tracks a little further north, there is also a chance it could impact the Texas coastline.

7/3/2024 10:30 am
Hurricane Beryl weakened on Tuesday into a Category 4 Storm. It is expected to pass through Jamaica today (Wednesday) and turn west toward the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico on Friday.