Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater will experience hurricane-force winds and catastrophic storm surge due to the storm’s huge wind field, despite being far from the forecast landfall region.

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge is closed due to high wind as Hurricane Helene impacts the Tampa Bay area. At 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, the Florida Highway Patrol said wind gusts had reached 60 miles per hour at the Skyway and closed the bridge to traffic. Authorities usually shut down the four-mile bridge when wind speeds hit 40 mph.