As of 2am Wednesday, the center of Helene is approaching the northwestern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.
The National Hurricane Center placed Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties under a tropical storm warning.
The system now has maximum sustained winds of 60 mph and is moving to the northwest at 10 mph.
By Wednesday, Helene will work its way into the southern Gulf of Mexico and strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 74 mph.
Then as it works its way toward the north and across very warm Gulf waters, it's expected to rapidly intensify into a major Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph.
The center of the storm will stay roughly 300 miles to the west of West Palm Beach. The Big Bend region and parts of the Florida Panhandle are under a hurricane warning.
TRACKING THE TROPICS: Hurricane Center | Hurricane Guide
Our viewing area will feel impacts from Helene between Wednesday and Friday.
We'll start to see the outer bands on Wednesday as the storm moves into the eastern Gulf. That will continue into Thursday with the threat of severe weather, gusty winds, and heavy downpours.
The outer rain bands may spin up a tornado locally and possibly produce two to five inches of rain. And even though Helene will stay roughly 300 miles to our west, the winds can still kick up here locally between 40 to maybe 50 miles per hour.
By the weekend, storm chances will drop to more seasonal levels.
