Hurricane Helene intensified into a major Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph making landfall Thursday night bringing devastating winds and storm surge to Florida’s Big Bend, according to the

Hurricane Helene is now forecast to reach catastrophic Category 4 strength by the time it makes landfall in Florida on Thursday, the National Hurricane Center says, with storm surge potentially climbing to 20 feet along some parts of the coast.

"Helene stands toe-to-toe with any of the threats that Florida has faced over the past ten years or indeed really over hurricane history."