TAMPA, Fla. — Hurricane Helene strengthened into a Category 4 storm ahead of its expected landfall on Florida’s northwest coast Thursday night as forecasters warned that the enormous system could create a “nightmare” storm surge and bring dangerous winds and rain across much of the southeastern U.S.
Helene prompted hurricane and flash flood warnings extending far beyond the coast up into northern Georgia and western North Carolina. Strong winds have already cut power to over 320,000 homes and businesses in Florida, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us. The governors of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas and Virginia all declared emergencies in their states.
News 8 spoke with two Quad Cities natives who are now living in the Tampa Bay area about how they've been preparing for the storm.
Brittany Yeocum moved to Florida from Davenport two years ago and said the weather risks between different states can be an adjustment, but preparation stays the same.
"Make sure you're not in a flood zone, stay calm," Yeocum said. "Definitely do all the repercussions as far as getting water, perishable food items, make sure you have flashlights, candles around. Definitely to be with people. I wouldn't say to be alone at all."
Helene will not be Yeocum's first hurricane. She was living in Florida when Ian, a Category 5 storm, hit the state back in 2022.
"Power going out, my car getting damaged, our home getting damaged, you know there's always that chance. So definitely still have that scare in me for sure," Yeocum said.
Heather Wolf-Erickson was born and raised in Moline and now works for the City of Tampa Parks & Recreation Department. She said the City has handed out over 50,000 sandbags within three days in preparation for Helene's impact.
"There's a lot of that goes into it from a city standpoint," Wolf-Erickson said. "There's exercises all the way from your finance department to solid waste water. We're shutting down pumps, we're turning down electricity...there's just a lot of behind the scenes to be able to really ramp up immediately and get the city back up on its feet."
In her department specifically, Wolf-Erickson said they've been preparing parks so that once the storm passes people are able to back out as quick as possible.
"We have 4,000 plus employees and everybody has a role, and everybody knows a role on the first day you're hired, what your role is in a storm and it's not negotiable once you've been given that assignment. That's where you go," she said.
Wolf-Erickson shared Yeocum's sentiment that no matter what the weather event is, whether it's severe weather in the Midwest or a hurricane, preparation is the most important part.
"It's similar in that way that it's an event. But if a snowstorm is coming, the radar is saying you're gonna get a snowstorm and you get a snowstorm. Sometimes we do a lot of prep because this storm is out over the water and it's projected and you have to do the same preparation as if you're gonna get hit. So I think that is the challenge and when you have three near misses and it really doesn't impact you and then you get hit. You just have to be prepared and have that mindset," Wolf-Erickson said.
News 8 received numerous photos and videos from other Floridians with ties to the Quad Cities regions.
One Muscatine native, Jaime Limoges, is physically in Seattle for a work conference but is the Director of Marketing and Engagement for the Humane Society of Sarasota County in Florida. On Wednesday night, she said the shelter brought in five dogs that were staying at a facility with outdoor-only kennels, located in a flood zone in Florida's Big Bend.
"We're so grateful to our friends at SPCA Florida who transported the dogs to us and also welcomed a few of the dogs into their own care," Limoges said in a message to News 8. "Together, we were able to clear the outdoor kennel space at the shelter in the Big Bend and remove these dogs from a dangerous situation before Hurricane Helene makes landfall."
The shelter also brought in a stray cat on Thursday that was found in Sarasota, giving it a safe and dry spot to ride out the storm Limoges said.
