Tropical storm force winds began battering Florida on Thursday as Hurricane Helene prepared to make landfall, with forecasters warning that the enormous storm could create a “nightmare” surge along the coast and

Fearing catastrophic storm surge in northwestern Florida, officials have urged residents to heed evacuation orders ahead of the enormous storm, which is expected to cause significant damage hundreds of miles inland across much of the southeastern U.

By Rich McKay, Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) -Powerful storm Helene officially became a hurricane on Wednesday morning, the National Hurricane Center said, packing maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph) as it churned in the eastern Gulf of Mexico just off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.