Nearly 50,000 homes and businesses were without power, as of Thursday at 1:45 p.m. ET. As of Thursday afternoon, Helene was located about 195 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida and was moving toward the north-northeast at 16 mph,

Helene grows stronger as it continues to track toward Florida's Gulf Coast and bring "catastrophic" winds and storm surge to parts of the region, according to Thursday morning's advisory from the National Hurricane Center.

Many areas are forecast to see dangerous storm surges, especially between Panama City and Tampa. The coast stretching from Ochlockonee River to Chassahowitzka could see between 10 and 15 feet of water. Nearby areas could see between 5 and 10 feet of water, and the Tampa Bay area is forecast to experience between 5 and 8 feet of storm surge.