DeSantis Expands State of Emergency to 61 Counties Ahead of Hurricane Helene

TALLAHASSEE—Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday expanded Florida's state of emergency to 61 of 67 counties in preparation for the soon-to-be Hurricane Helene, whose tropical force winds could extend up to 250 miles out, he warned.

This is up from the 41 counties he originally issued a state of emergency for Monday afternoon.

"You still have time to prepare," Gov. DeSantis said at a Tallahassee press conference, stressing that the storm—which is predicted to make landfall in the Big Bend or Panhandle as a Category 3—needs to be taken seriously, even if that means evacuating altogether. "You have time to be able to put this plan into place."

Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine is expected to turn into Hurricane Helene on Wednesday before striking the Central to North Florida area on Thursday. Though its current maximum sustained winds are 35 mph, located 150 miles off Grand Cayman, it's moving northwest at about 9 mph, USA Today reported. This is expected to hold through Tuesday night, rapidly pick up speed Wednesday, and barrel toward the Sunshine State in a north-northeastward motion until impact.

However, Gov. DeSantis, warned, don't get "wedded to these cones...Know that this thing is here, know that we could have broad impacts." In the past, a slew of hurricanes have surprised forecasters by changing direction or growing or shrinking in strength, like South Florida's Hurricane Andrew in 1992 whose last-minute shift devastated Homestead. Other powerful storms like Katrina and Irma underwent similar trajectory changes with deadly consequences.

DeSantis announced that 18,000 linemen, 3,000 National Guardsmen, and the State Guard are amassing in preparation for the storm, along with hundreds of Starlinks (internet satellites) at the ready for when many Floridians' power inevitably goes out. 150,000 linear feet of flood control devices are similarly available, just like it was after Hurricane Debby rocked the Big Bend last month.

"We've been fortunate in Florida where we have a culture here where we want to get the power back on," DeSantis added.

Leon County and the Big Bend, among others, are under serious hurricane watch for the next few days. After Tallahassee was rocked by a surprise tornado in May, and the Big Bend has experienced two major hurricanes in the past year, residents worry about Helene's impacts.