Tropical Storm Helene, a potential hurricane, forecast to rapidly intensify on path to Florida's...

The Gulf Coast is bracing for a major hurricane landfall late this week as Tropical Storm Helene is forecast to rapidly intensify into a Category 3 storm on a path for the Florida coast. Residents were already evacuating and filling sandbags Tuesday, two days before Helen's expected landfall late on Thursday.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis expanded on Tuesday a state of emergency declaration to a total of 61 counties. The state has issued voluntary or mandatory evacuation orders for 13 counties.