Helene is expected to make landfall on Florida's Big Bend this evening as a major category 4 hurricane, bringing the risk of catastrophic damage.

The U.S. Gulf Coast is bracing for a major hurricane, with Tropical Storm Helene expected to intensify rapidly into a Category 3 storm and hit Florida's Big Bend.

Helene is forecast to quickly intensify as it emerges in the Gulf of Mexico, becoming a major hurricane before landfall late Thursday along Florida's Big Bend region, not far from Apalachicola. In anticipation of the storm's impacts, Georgia's governor issued a State of Emergency to free up resources to respond to Helene-related impacts.