If you've been on social media over the weekend, you've seen that this was going to happen. It's now officially labeled as "Potential Tropical Cyclone 9" and it's heading for the Gulf of Mexico.
Potential Tropical Cyclone 9, which is almost certain to become Hurricane Helene looks to be passing Cuba and heading north in to the Gulf during the day on Wednesday. From there, projections have it heading towards the Big Bend area of Florida. But this is the type of storm that can pose problems for Southwest Florida with surge.
Potential Tropical Cyclone 9 Model Runs
The guidance is for the winds to be hitting at least 110 mph at 8 am on Thursday, with a possibility for even higher. If you've been to the beach lately, you know the water is very warm, and rapid intensification of the storm is likely. For now, it looks like Southwest Florida is going to avoid a direct hit, but we most certainly feel the effects of what's soon to become Hurricane Helene.
So far, it looks like we'll get the rain bands will be hitting Southwest Florida Wednesday night going into Thursday morning. Something to plan for if your kids are normally out there waiting on a bus.
The Cone Can Shift
The storm hasn't fully formed, yet, so don't look at the cone and think everything is fine. Something like a cold front could change things and send it more toward Southwest Florida, and even if it doesn't, we could still see substantial surge hitting our area. A weakened Fort Myers Beach has been prone to flooding lately even without a hurricane in the area. This could bring more. We've seen a lot of rain, and the grounds are saturated, flooding could be a much bigger issue this week, rather than wind.
There's no need to panic and rush home to put up your shutters. Not yet, at least. We'll have a better idea where this storm is heading once it truly forms into tropical cyclone 9. We're not there yet.
