Maps: Tracking Hurricane Helene – The New York Times

Helene was a Class 4 hurricane over Florida late Thursday Jap time, the Nationwide Hurricane Middle stated in its newest advisory.

The hurricane had sustained wind speeds of 140 miles per hour. Comply with our protection right here.

Monitoring Helene’s wind velocity

Monitoring Helene’s path

The place is flooding attainable?

Storm surge is the ocean water pushed ashore by the storm’s winds and has traditionally been the main reason for demise from hurricanes. If the surge happens throughout excessive tide, it could actually have far-reaching results.

The place will it rain?

Flash flooding can happen effectively inland and away from the storm’s middle. Even weaker storms can produce extreme rainfall that may flood low-lying areas.

Monitoring energy outages

Helene is the eighth named storm to kind within the Atlantic in 2024.

In late Could, the Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that there could be 17 to 25 named storms this 12 months, an above-normal quantity.

This season follows an excessively lively 12 months, with 20 named storms — together with an early storm later given the official title of “Unnamed.” It was the eighth 12 months in a row to surpass the common of 14 named storms. Just one hurricane, Idalia, made landfall in america.

Sometimes, the El Niño sample that was in power final season would have suppressed hurricanes and lowered the variety of storms in a season. However in 2023, the nice and cozy ocean temperatures within the Atlantic blunted El Niño’s common impact of thwarting storms.

The nice and cozy ocean temperatures that fueled final 12 months’s season returned even hotter at first of this season, elevating forecasters’ confidence that there could be extra storms this 12 months. The heightened sea floor temperatures may additionally strengthen storms extra quickly than common.

To make issues worse, the El Niño sample current final 12 months can be diminishing, most probably making a extra appropriate ambiance for storms to kind and intensify.

Hurricanes want a peaceful surroundings to kind, and, within the Atlantic, a powerful El Niño will increase the quantity of wind shear — a change in wind velocity and/or route with peak — which disrupts a storm’s potential to coalesce. With out El Niño this 12 months, clouds usually tend to tower to the tall heights wanted to maintain a robust cyclone.