{"id":2346225,"date":"2024-09-26T11:07:01","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T15:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hurricane-helene-upgraded-to-category-2-ahead-of-landfall-in-florida-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-09-26T11:09:25","modified_gmt":"2024-09-26T15:09:25","slug":"hurricane-helene-upgraded-to-category-2-ahead-of-landfall-in-florida-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hurricane-helene-upgraded-to-category-2-ahead-of-landfall-in-florida-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Hurricane Helene upgraded to Category 2 ahead of landfall in Florida &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhurricane-helene-upgraded-to-category-2-ahead-of-landfall-in-florida-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2346225&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Hurricane Helene \u200chas been \u200dupgraded \u2064to Category \u200b2 and is expected to \u200cmake landfall \u200din Florida&#8217;s Big Bend\u200b region on Thursday \u2064evening, presenting a significant threat to the area. \u2064As of the latest advisory, the storm has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hurricane-lee-intensifies-to-category-5\/\" title=\"Hurricane Lee now a Category 5 storm.\">maximum \u200csustained winds<\/a> of 100 mph and is located about \u200c365 miles\u200b south of Apalachicola, Florida. Officials are particularly\u200c concerned\u200d about the &#8220;potentially unsurvivable <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/graham-green-fraud-and-the-climate-lockdown\/\" title=\"GRAHAM: \u2018Green Fraud\u2019 And The Climate Lockdown\">storm surge<\/a>&#8221; predicted for Apalachee Bay, with warnings that the \u2064surge \u200dcould start affecting the \u200dregion as early as Thursday \u2063afternoon, just ahead of the \u200cmost <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hurricane-ida-slams-louisiana-causes-widespread-damage-and-power-outages\/\" title=\"Hurricane Ida Slams Louisiana, Causes Widespread Damage And Power Outages\">powerful winds<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The National Weather\u2062 Service in Tallahassee has\u2063 expressed\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-are-there-no-tv-ads-for-covid-19-vaccines-because-the-manufacturing-companies-would-have-to-list-the-side-effects\/\" title=\"FACT CHECK: Are There No TV Ads For COVID-19 Vaccines Because The Manufacturing Companies Would Have To List The Side Effects?\">increasing confidence<\/a> \u2062in the likelihood of catastrophic storm surges, \u2064flooding from \u2062rainfall, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/major-storm-expected-to-hit-east-coast-mid-atlantic\/\" title=\"Major storm expected to hit East Coast, Mid Atlantic\">high winds<\/a>,\u2064 and the potential for tornadoes. Residents are warned to prepare for\u200c widespread and prolonged power \u2064outages, significant\u200d damage to infrastructure, and hazardous road conditions \u200ddue \u2063to debris and flooding. The storm could intensify further before landfall, raising\u2062 concerns about the overall\u2063 impact on the \u2062affected communities.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Hurricane Helene upgraded to Category 2 ahead of landfall on Florida&rsquo;s Big Bend<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1769819\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/hurricane\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Hurricane\">Hurricane<\/a> Helene is expected to batter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/florida\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Hurricane\">Florida<\/a>&lsquo;s Big Bend as it makes landfall Thursday evening, and officials are warning of &ldquo;potentially unsurvivable storm surge&rdquo; where the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/storm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"storm\">storm<\/a> is expected to strike hardest.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The storm strengthened to Category 2 on Thursday morning and is expected to reach Category 3 or higher before it makes landfall. The 8 a.m. advisory from the National Weather Service showed the storm had maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour, and was located 365 miles south of Apalachicola, Florida. As the storm approaches, officials are warning residents in the Big Bend of the Sunshine State.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There is increasing confidence of catastrophic and\/or potentially unsurvivable storm surge for Apalachee Bay,&rdquo; according to a Thursday advisory from the National Weather Service Tallahassee. &ldquo;Storm surge may begin to arrive as early as this afternoon ahead of the strongest winds, building through landfall.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This satellite image provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Helene advancing across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida on Sept. 26, 2024. (NOAA via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Tallahassee NWS office also warned of expected flooding from rain, the threat of tornados, and the expected high winds wreaking havoc.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Widespread and prolonged power outages, damage to critical infrastructure, catastrophic damage to trees and powerlines, widespread inaccessibility due to blocked roads, and damage to well-built structures will all be possible,&rdquo; according to the advisory, which added that &ldquo;catastrophic wind damage&rdquo; will occur near the landfall part of the storm.<\/p>\n<p>Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ron-desantis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Ron DeSantis\">Ron DeSantis<\/a> (R-FL) has declared a state of emergency in 61 counties, while governors in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia have also declared states of emergency ahead of the storm&rsquo;s impacts after landfall.<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials announced a partnership with the National Football League to use four stadiums for emergency shelters when necessary.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The stadiums will be designated as Mission Ready Venues, meaning they can be used as emergency shelters, temporary hospitals, staging areas, or disaster recovery centers, among other uses, when an emergency or disaster is declared.<\/p>\n<p>The initial stadiums given the designation are MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey; Lumen Field in Seattle; Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh; and&nbsp;Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles is also under review for the designation, according to FEMA and the NFL.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1769819\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1769819\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hurricane Helene upgraded to Category 2 before hitting Florida&#8217;s Big Bend<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2638,"featured_media":2346226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/hurricane-helene-satellite-image-sept-25.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[41775,5113,41774],"class_list":["post-2346225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-category-2","tag-florida","tag-hurricane-helene"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/hurricane-helene-satellite-image-sept-25.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2346225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2346225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2346225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2346226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2346225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2346225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2346225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}