(0027) Rare case of waking not long after falling asleep, maybe the hurricane has me concerned. (0237)
1. Latest from AP
CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Helene strengthened into a Category 4 storm hours ahead of its expected landfall on Florida’s northwest coast Thursday night as forecasters warned that the enormous system could create a “nightmare” storm surge in coastal areas and bring dangerous winds and rain across much of the southeastern U.S.
Helene, which had strengthened into a Category 3 storm earlier Thursday, prompted hurricane and flash flood warnings extending far beyond the coast up into northern Georgia and western North Carolina. Strong winds already cut power to over 320,000 homes and businesses in Florida, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us. The governors of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas and Virginia all declared emergencies in their states.
The hurricane was about 110 miles (175 kilometers) west of Tampa and had sustained winds of 130 mph (215 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Accelerating through the Gulf of Mexico, it was moving north-northeast at 23 mph (37 kph), and life-threatening storm surges of up to 20 feet (6 meters) were expected in the Big Bend area of Florida.
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There’s a lady on X called Sassafras and her thread is far more alive than the forecast, various residents saying too late to flee … no fun being caught in traffic jams on the I-10. She says she has cows and chickens, can’t leave them … another says there’s more danger fleeing, her wildlife is inside. Apparently DeSantis is ready with corps of engineers … they seem confident in him.
Concern for me is I saw the shadow and it curled under Mobile and down further south is where Todles is … please pray for all.
One lady, been there all her life, said surge above 7 feet is lethal … some areas are way above that, some below. One from Georgia said they don’t get many of these around her way … she was worried.
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That was around our 2300, they’re 5 hours behind, it’s now our 0100 and signing off.