Helene intensifies and would hit the coast of Florida as a hurricane.

Tropical storm Helene continues to gain strength and threatens to become a hurricane as it approaches the coast of Florida, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned this Tuesday.

According to the latest forecasts, Helene is expected to reach hurricane strength as it passes near the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula this Wednesday, where a warning has already been issued due to its proximity, the NHC pointed out on the social network X.

Additionally, it was noted that Helene will rapidly increase in size as it moves over the eastern Gulf of Mexico, which could generate dangerous storm surges along the west coast of Florida, particularly in the Florida Big Bend area.

Finally, the monitoring center pointed out that Helene will bring heavy rains to portions of the western Caribbean, with possible significant flooding and landslides in western Cuba.

Currently, Tropical Storm Helene is located at the coordinates 19.7°N, 84.7°W, with sustained winds of 50 miles per hour (mph) and moving in a west-northwest (WNW) direction at a speed of 12 mph.

For his part, Cuban meteorologist Raydel Ruisanchez indicated on Facebook that the winds of Helene "have increased to 85 km/h and the pressure has dropped to 995 hPa."

Similarly, he noted that "the extent of tropical storm winds has increased and now reaches up to 280 km east of its center."

The NHC also warned this Monday in another report that tropical storm Helene "will become quite large and powerful before making landfall," which forecasts that upon reaching Florida it will be a hurricane of great intensity.

"The conditions appear to be quite favorable for strengthening over the eastern Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday and Thursday," they pointed out in a statement that follows this weather phenomenon that has put areas of countries like Cuba and Mexico on alert.

Hours earlier, the NHC confirmed that Tropical Storm Helene had already formed in the northwest Caribbean Sea and indicated that, according to forecasts, it would rapidly intensify.

In Florida, this Monday Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 24-208, declaring a state of emergency in 41 counties of the state that could experience potential impacts from the storm and ordering agencies to prepare as needed.

The provision excludes the southeast part of the state, leaving out the counties of Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, and Broward.

Helene is expected to move north through the Panhandle region on Thursday night, with Tallahassee, the capital of Florida, at the center of its projected path.