Hurricane Helene storms Florida's Big Bend

Helene is among the biggest hurricanes to ever strike the Gulf Coast

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis briefs public on Hurricane Helene
"You need to be, right now, just hunkering down," said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
(Image credit: Chandan Khanna / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

Hurricane Helene roared across Florida's Panhandle Thursday night, making landfall near the Big Bend town of Perry at 11:10 p.m. as a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph. At roughly 420 miles wide, Helene is "one of the biggest storms on record to strike the Gulf Coast," The Washington Post said, and the most powerful ever to hit the Big Bend area. The National Hurricane Center said Helene remained "extremely dangerous and life-threatening" as it moved into Georgia as a Category 2 storm Friday morning. It was downgraded to a tropical storm at 5 a.m. local time.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.