Helene expected to reach South Georgia as a hurricane

For the latest updates on Hurricane Helene, follow AJC’s live coverage and hour-by-hour forecasts.

Hurricane warnings were issued for much of southwest Georgia on Wednesday night as Hurricane Helene barrels through the Gulf of Mexico on the way to the Florida Panhandle.

The powerful system is projected to arrive in Florida by Thursday evening as a Category 4 storm, with wind speeds potentially reaching 130 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Metro Atlanta and North Georgia are under a Tropical Storm warning, but a hurricane warning is in place for parts of southwest Georgia as far north as Macon. Forecasters warned flooding and strong winds that could topple trees and power lines are likely, in addition to as much as 12 inches of rain in some areas.

Helene is expected to weaken as it moves inland, but the National Weather Service projects it will still be a hurricane when it reaches southwest Georgia.

By late Wednesday, thousands of Georgians were already without electricity, schools were closing, outdoor events were canceled, and the state was bracing for Helene’s impact.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned that the flooding rainfall and high winds won’t be limited to the Gulf Coast and are expected to travel hundreds of miles inland.

“Helene is an unusually large storm, whose wind field extends as far as 275 miles from its center,” the NOAA said in a statement. “Even well before landfall, heavy rainfall will begin in portions of the southeastern United States and will continue to move northward into the southern Appalachian region through Friday, where storm total rainfall amounts are forecast to be up to 18 inches.”

The city of Atlanta is preparing for Helene to roll through the metro area late Thursday into Friday morning, when strong wind gusts could reach up to 80 mph.

”We have to get prepared anyway, for whatever may come,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “So we prepare for the worst, hope for the best.”

Helene, the eighth named storm of this year’s busy Atlantic hurricane season, is forecast to dump inches of rain in Georgia over the next few days. It comes just a little over a month after most of the state dodged Hurricane Debby.

A tropical storm watch means that a cyclone with wind speeds exceeding 39 mph poses a threat within 48 hours. A warning is issued when the threat is imminent and is expected within 36 hours or less. The same criteria applies to hurricane watches and warnings, only that a hurricane carries wind speeds of 76 mph or higher.

In anticipation of the storm, Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency Tuesday afternoon. The executive order calls up 500 National Guard troops to prepare for and respond to the storm. It lasts until Oct. 2.

Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management began clearing out storm drains earlier this week, and city officials said the department has emergency crews in place to respond to the city’s flood hotspots.

”There’s still the possibility, when you have so much rain falling in a short amount of time, that those vaults and those sewer drains can get overflooded,” Dickens said.

School districts throughout Georgia and in metro Atlanta announced closures and cancellations of various events in anticipation of the severe weather.

Additionally, two Braves-Mets games were postponed, a handful of high school football programs opted to reschedule their games, and the North Georgia State Fair shut down, with plans to resume Friday.

Georgia Department of Transportation officials warned residents to stay off roads if possible in the event of flooding. Grady Health System announced that its clinics and neighborhood health centers would close early Thursday. Officials suggested calling ahead before driving to medical facilities or other businesses.

A hurricane warning extends the entirety of Florida’s Gulf Coast and further inland, encompassing nearly all of southwest Georgia, from Decatur to Clinch counties and northward into Ben Hill County, according to the National Weather Service.

There will be the potential for life-threatening surges and damaging hurricane-force winds along the coast. Forecasts predict that the storm will make landfall somewhere between Panama City Beach and Cedar Key at around 8 p.m. Thursday.

While Helene’s heaviest impact will be felt along the Florida coast and in South Georgia, meteorologist Marshall Shepherd, director of the University of Georgia’s Atmospheric Sciences Program, said the latest forecasts are concerning and that most of Georgia should be busy preparing. The impacts in Atlanta could be comparable to or worse than Hurricane Irma in 2017, Shepherd said, which downed trees and caused widespread power outages in the metro area.

Georgia Power, the state’s largest electric utility, and Georgia EMC, which represents 41 electric membership corporations primarily serving rural areas, both said they are monitoring the forecast and preparing to respond. Some areas were already experiencing power outages by Wednesday afternoon.

In South Georgia, lashing winds and rain could devastate crops like cotton and pecans, which are in the middle of their harvest. While the storm will weaken as it moves inland, it will move quickly, meaning it’s expected to hold onto hurricane-force winds as it reaches metro Atlanta.

The severe weather could impact flights at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Delta Air Lines issued a travel advisory for flights traveling to, from or through several destinations in the forecasted path of the storm between Wednesday and Friday. Affected cities include Valdosta, Key West, Daytona Beach, Jacksonville and Hilton Head Island, among others.

The NWS has tips to ensure you, your family and your property are prepared to weather the storm — even if that means evacuating. Residents should make sure their devices are fully charged; store or secure outdoor objects; gather supplies including nonperishable food, water and medicine; and determine an emergency evacuation route. The NHC has more tips here.

You can find Red Cross evacuation maps for your county and state here: Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.

Updated forecast path

— Staff writers Riley Bunch, Caroline Silva, Shaddi Abusaid, Drew Kann, Taylor Croft and Savannah Sicurella contributed to this article.

» For a detailed forecast, visit www.ajc.com/weather.