TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Sixty-one Florida counties, including Okeechobee County in our viewing area, are now under a state of emergency because of the threat of what's expected to become a major Category 3 Hurricane Helene over the next couple days.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that every county outside of those in southeast Florida are included in the emergency order, which allows state officials to make resources available to communities ahead of any potential storm impacts.
Here are the 61 Florida counties under a state of emergency:
- Alachua
- Baker
- Bay
- Bradford
- Brevard
- Calhoun
- Charlotte
- Citrus
- Clay
- Collier
- Columbia
- DeSoto
- Dixie
- Duval
- Escambia
- Flagler
- Franklin
- Gadsden
- Gilchrist
- Glades
- Gulf
- Hamilton
- Hardee
- Hendry
- Hernando
- Highlands
- Hillsborough
- Holmes
- Jackson
- Jefferson
- Lafayette
- Lake
- Lee
- Leon
- Levy
- Liberty
- Madison
- Manatee
- Marion
- Monroe
- Nassau
- Okaloosa
- Okeechobee
- Orange
- Osceola
- Pasco
- Pinellas
- Polk
- Putnam
- Santa Rosa
- Sarasota
- Seminole
- St. Johns
- Sumter
- Suwannee
- Taylor
- Union
- Volusia
- Wakulla
- Walton
- Washington
WATCH: Gov. Ron DeSantis gives update on preparations for Helene
"Prepare. You have time to do it. There's a lot of uncertainty with this storm. But the one thing that is certain is we are gonna see some impacts," DeSantis said.
Tropical Storm Helene formed Tuesday morning and is expected to rapidly intensify into a major Category 3 hurricane before making landfall in Florida's Big Bend region late Thursday night.
DeSantis said the storm is expected to move quickly, and the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend should be "especially prepared for a direct impact."
TRACKING THE TROPICS: Hurricane Center | Hurricane Guide
"You could have impacts that are outside of where the current cone is. And in fact, we anticipate there to be impacts beyond the current cone," DeSantis said.
In anticipation of the powerful storm, more than 18,000 lineman are ready to respond to any storm-related power outages, and 3,000 Florida National Guard soldiers are prepared to assist with search and rescue and route clearing operations.
The Florida National Guard is also activated, and Florida's Division of Emergency Management is providing high water vehicles, tarps, generators, and additional first responders to areas that are expecting to get the worst of the weather.
Our viewing area will feel impacts from Helene between Wednesday and Friday.
We'll start to see the outer bands on Wednesday as storm moves into Gulf. That will continue into Thursday with the threat of severe weather, gusty winds, and heavy downpours.
"These outer bands may spin up a tornado locally, plus produce anywhere from two to five inches of rain," WPTV First Alert Weather meteorologist Steve Villanueva said. "The storm is gonna stay roughly 300 miles to the west, but it will kick up those winds. We could have winds of 40 to maybe 50 miles per hour."
By the weekend, our storm chances will drop to more seasonal levels.
