Hurricane Helene Now Category 2, Starts Impacting Southern States

TAMPA, Fla.—Hurricane Helene is now a Category 2, according to The National Hurricane Center, and even though it is still in the southern Gulf of Mexico, its effects are already being felt as far away as North Carolina. Maximum sustained winds were recorded at 100 mph as of 8 a.m. ET on Sept. 26. Its center was spotted 320 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, and hurricane-force winds (74 mph and greater) were recorded 60 miles out, and tropical storm-force winds (39–73 mph) extended 345 miles out. Sustained winds of 41 mph were recently recorded at Key West Naval Air Station. Wind gusts of 64 mph were recently recorded at Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, and gusts of 56 mph were recently recorded in Naples, Florida....