Tropical Storm Helene Grows Stronger as It Approaches Mexico and Florida
Tropical Storm Helene is gaining strength in the Caribbean and is headed towards Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. Meteorologists have warned that Helene could become a category-three hurricane before it reaches the U.S. Gulf Coast in the next few days.
According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Helene is expected to pass the northeastern coast of Yucatán soon and reach Florida late Thursday.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for nearly all counties in the state. As of 09:00 GMT, Helene had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (105 km/h) and was moving northwest from its location east of Quintana Roo, Mexico. The Mexican meteorological service has stated that popular tourist spots like Cancún and Cozumel could be impacted as early as Wednesday morning.
In Cancún, red flags warning swimmers of dangerous conditions were already up on Tuesday, prompting fishermen to quickly pull their boats ashore.
While some tourists ignored the warnings and continued swimming, local businesses began boarding up windows as heavy rain started and winds picked up.
Helene is also expected to bring heavy rainfall to western Cuba and the Cayman Islands. The NHC predicts that once Helene reaches the southeastern U.S., it could bring five to ten inches (12.7 to 25.4 cm) of rain, raising concerns about flooding from Florida to the southern Appalachian region.
The Big Bend area in Florida, which was recently affected by Hurricane Idalia and Hurricane Debby, is expected to face the worst conditions.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management has released information about counties where evacuation orders have been issued ahead of Helene’s arrival【BBC】.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czd13mezz7mo