WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Helene continues to bring life-threatening storm surge, destructive winds, and flood rain to Florida and Georgia.
As of 5 a.m. Friday, Helene has weakened to a tropical storm and is moving over southeastern Georgia near Augusta.
Since Helene is moving over land, the hurricane has downgraded with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph and will continue to weaken as it moves farther north and inland.
Helene made landfall as a dangerous Category 4 hurricane at approximately 11:10 p.m. Thursday at the mouth of the Aucilla river, or about 10 miles west-southwest of Perry, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph.
TRACKING THE TROPICS: Hurricane Center | Hurricane Guide
Before the storm came ashore, strong winds had already cut power to more than 400,000 customers in Florida, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us.
A tornado watch for the Treasure Coast expired at 8 p.m. However, WPTV First Alert Weather meteorologist James Wieland said Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast will still see gusty and tropical storm force winds.
The Treasure Coast is under a wind advisory until 11 a.m. Friday, as sustained gusts of up to 30 mph are possible.
Helene was a very large hurricane with hurricane-force winds extending outward up to 60 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extending outward up to 310 miles.
The strongest winds reported so far in our area were at the Juno Beach Pier with sustained tropical storm-force winds of 40 mph and a gust of 67 mph. Vero Beach saw a 59 mph Thursday morning.
Albert Whitted airport in St. Petersburg, Florida, reported a sustained wind of 53 mph with a gust of 76 mph.
For Friday, a lot of tropical moisture will continue to move across South Florida. It won't be as windy, but still quite breezy.
We'll have about a 50% chance of seeing showers and thunderstorms on Friday. We will be in the moisture tail of Helene, so we'll have ample moisture moving on through.
As we head into the weekend, rain chances will drop some on Saturday, and even more so by Sunday as drier air mixes in. But it does stay warm with highs in the low 90s.
Read more of WPTV's coverage of Hurricane Helene below:
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At least 40 dead in multiple states, 9 in Florida, from monster Hurricane Helene
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HELENE'S IMPACT: Family rescued after tree destroys home in Martin County
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Palm Beach Co., Treasure Coast schools closed Thursday
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COUNTY-BY-COUNTY IMPACTS: What to expect
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Steve Weagle: Here's what you need to know about Helene
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Helene threatens 'unsurvivable' storm surge and vast damage, forecasters say
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'Cautiously optimistic': Wellington prepping for potential flooding
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'WAITING AND WATCHING': Belle Glade, South Bay preparing for impacts of Helene
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