A spokesperson for Waffle House did not say how many restaurants would close in preparation for Hurricane Helene, but many in Tallahassee closed.

Hurricane Helene is expected to bring “unsurvivable” storm surge when the center approaches landfall late Thursday in Florida’s Big Bend, and the state capital, Tallahassee, is

Residents of Florida’s capital prepared to evacuate their homes and stocked up on sandbags, food and supplies Wednesday as Hurricane Helene sped toward the Gulf Coast as what the city's mayor said could be the “strongest hurricane in recorded history ever to hit” the Tallahassee area.

As Hurricane Helene continues intensifying during its northerly track toward Florida, all eyes are on where The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore is stationed. Usually, a Cantore sighting in your town means there’s a good chance the storm is heading there.

Now you know Tropical Storm Helene is serious. Jim Cantore has been deployed. The meteorologist and famed hurricane harbinger reported Tuesday from Hudson Beach near Port Richey on the Gulf Coast, according to a social media post from The Weather Channel.

Weather Channel legend Jim Cantore is "praying" that he's wrong about Hurricane Helene. Hurricane Helene, the tropical storm turned hurricane that is barreling toward Florida's Gulf Coast, could be the worst storm to hit the United States in more than a year.