Hurricane Helene is gaining strength and is expected to rapidly intensify as it approaches Florida on Thursday. The National Hurricane Center says the storm will bring "catastrophic" winds and storm surge to the northeastern Gulf coast.

Florida is bracing for “unsurvivable” storm surge from Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 storm. In the afternoon, Helene was accelerating toward Florida’s Big Bend, bringing tropical storm conditions across most of the state’s western coast.