Wednesday, September 25

Helene has formed in the Caribbean, and it is now a dangerous, rapidly intensifying hurricane racing toward Florida.

The storm formed as a tropical storm yesterday, moving northwest towards Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, and brushed Cancún before entering the Gulf of Mexico. The system had been an area of interest for possible development for days, and it has finally formed after moving over warm waters. It is now in the southern part of the Gulf of Mexico, west of Cuba, and is delivering rain to both regions. Helene's winds have strengthened to over 75 mph with gusts of over 90 mph, and more intensification is expected.

Hurricane Helene is expected to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane as it quickly moves north through the eastern Gulf, putting the storm on track for a Thursday landfall in the Florida Panhandle. Water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico have been hitting over 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31 degrees Celsius) recently, which is prime condition for a storm to form and strengthen. Current forecasts expect Helene to be a major hurricane of Category 3 intensity by the time it reaches the Florida coastline, packing winds of over 120 mph, life-threatening rain, and dangerous storm surge. In fact, no model in the history of the National Weather Service has ever showed a hurricane intensifying from a tropical depression to a major hurricane this quickly-- according to their forecasts, it would take under 60 hours for Helene's winds to strengthen from 35 mph to 120 mph.

After making landfall, it will quickly pass through Florida's thin panhandle before entering southern Georgia, where it will dump heavy rain for several days as it weakens. Forecasts expect a weakened Helene to travel through the Atlanta area, which is the state of Georgia's largest city and is home to around 6 million people. Then, as a tropical depression, it will deliver more rain to Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Ohio Valley, but it should fizzle out relatively swiftly as it moves farther and farther away from the warm waters of the Gulf.

Florida and Georgia are already preparing for Helene's impacts-- flood and hurricane watches are already in place. Flood watches are in place across western Florida, the Panhandle, and almost all of Georgia, and also extend into parts of Tennessee and North Carolina. Hurricane warnings are place across Florida's Big Bend region, where Helene is expected to make landfall, and tropical storm warnings are also in effect for much of southern Florida. Meanwhile, the less severe tropical storm watch is in place across eastern Georgia and Florida along the Atlantic coastline, while tropical weather statements, which warn of possible tropical storm conditions coming soon, have taken effect across almost all of Florida and southern Georgia. The region will now brace for the heavy rain, strong winds, and serious storm surge from Helene heading their way, but they will need to prepare quickly-- the storm is moving and intensifying at a rapid pace.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): The first traffic signal was created by William Potts in 1920-- it was the first-ever tricolor, four-directional traffic signal, helping drivers stay safe at intersections. The first four-directional traffic light was installed at the intersection of Woodward Avenue and Fort Street in Detroit, Michigan.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): I feel like money makes you more of who you already are.

(Sara Blakely)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Jerkwater (adj)- Jerkwater means “remote and unimportant.” It is often used to describe a small town, village, etc., that is out in the country far from cities. Jerkwater can also mean “trivial.”

In a Sentence: I grew up in a jerkwater town in the middle of nowhere.