Mayor urges residents to heed evacuation orders

Pinellas County officials ordered a mandatory Zone A evacuation at about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday ahead of what will soon become Hurricane Helene. That encompasses coastal neighborhoods countywide, some low-lying areas several miles inland and all mobile home parks.

The National Hurricane Center expects a rapidly intensifying Helene to become a Category 3 hurricane before the massive storm passes about 100 miles off the Pinellas coast Thursday afternoon. Forecasts still project a local five-to-eight-foot storm surge.

Top Buttons opens in downtown St. Pete

Melissa Etheridge concert latest casualty of storm concerns

Health experts share storm safety tips as Helene approaches

The Gulf Coast region is on high alert as a rapidly intensifying storm system, expected to become Hurricane Helene, barrels toward the shoreline. Emergency management officials and meteorologists are urging residents to take immediate precautions and prepare for potentially severe impacts.

The National Weather Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have been closely monitoring the development of this system, which is predicted to strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall. Current forecasts suggest the storm could bring dangerous storm surge, heavy rainfall and damaging winds to coastal areas.

Thrive

Katie Amend

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Subscribe    Unsubscribe    Contact    Partner