Hurricane Helene may make landfall as a major hurricane at about 8 pm Eastern Time Thursday.
Current projections put Helene’s maximum sustained winds at about 115 mph (Category 3) at landfall, with the potential for additional intensification as Helene transverses the open Gulf. Should Helene slow her rapid pace, the nearly 90 degrees F Gulf waters could fuel the storm’s strength.
Helene is already expected to undergo some level of rapid intensification, which we define as an increase in maximum sustained winds of at least 35 mph in a 24-hour period.
By tomorrow night, Helene is expected to reach max sustained winds of 90 mph – a 45 mph jump from current winds (45 mph at last report).
Helene’s track thus far looks to be following a path similar to last year’s Hurricane Idalia.
You can read my post about rapid intensification of Hurricane Idalia from last year here.
Florida faces a particularly hard recovery this year because of the near collapse of the home insurance industry in the state.
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