Helene’s Path To Florida Hasn’t Changed

With the newest data coming in from the National Hurricane Center, what is expected to become Hurricane Helene is targeting Florida. Denis Phillips from ABC Action News tells us the spaghetti models have shown a lot of agreement in terms of Helen's path. There were no big changes when the 11PM readings came in Monday night. The models still show the storm heading to the Florida Panhandle or the Big Bend. But that doesn't mean Tampa Bay is off the hook.

Denis says the good thing is we still have two days in the Tampa area to prepare for Helene's visit. He expects any tropical storm like conditions for us in Tampa Bay to arrive Thursday morning. That leaves us Tuesday and Wednesday to make any last minute preparations that, quite honestly, we should have made earlier in the hurricane season.

There still could be changes as the storm takes shape. Once the storm develops a center, forecasters say we'll have more certainty on what impacts we'll see in our area. A small shift to the east could really make a big difference for Tampa Bay. Even if the path Helene is predicted to take doesn't change, we'll still see some wild weather, especially along our coast.

Denis says his biggest concern is storm surge. He thinks coastal areas will likely get evacuation orders Tuesday with tropical storm or hurricane watches too. If there's any good news about Helene, Denis says it's that this will be a fast moving storm.

In his notes at 11pm Monday night, Denis reminded us that it's still not officially a named storm: "Still not quite Helene. No changes to track or intensity. NHC still believes it will be Cat 3 before landfall. Again, the system is not organized yet. Once it does, there could still be a relocation of the center which could change the ultimate track."