Tropical Storm Helene Live Updates: Follow its path as Florida braces for a major hurricane

Tropical Storm Helene is expected to pass along the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula over the next few hours and is expected to be upgraded to a hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center's forecast on Wednesday morning.

Helene is expected to “rapidly increase in intensity and size” as it passes over the eastern Gulf of Mexico, it said.

Helene could bring a life-threatening storm surge across the entire west coast of the Florida peninsula and the Big Bend. Hurricane-force winds could also blow up at the Big Bend.

Tropical Storm Helene strengthened rapidly in the Caribbean and is expected to become a hurricane on Wednesday as it moves north along the coast of Mexico toward the United States. In Florida and Georgia, residents were evacuated, schools were closed, and authorities declared a state of emergency.

The storm is expected to reach “near hurricane strength” as it passes near Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula early Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said. It will also “increase in intensity and size” as it moves north across the Gulf of Mexico.

Another storm system is targeting Florida, this time possibly the Panhandle with storm aftermath along the entire Gulf Coast.

Tropical Storm Helene, which soon develops into a hurricane, sweeps from the Caribbean Sea into extremely warm waters that serve as breeding grounds for tropical cyclones.

Curt Anderson in detail what you need to know: