Image source, Lee County Sheriff's Office

We've been getting updates from local sheriffs' offices across Florida, where the hurricane hit late on Thursday night local time.

• In Pasco County, 65 people have been rescued - including 40 people from rising water along the US19 corridor
• Many roads are impassable and some schools are staying shut in Lee County
• In Taylor County the sheriff is warning of trees and power lines obstructing roads
• Further south along the coast, hotel guests were evacuated from a Ramada Inn in Manatee County as the hotel was flooded with water
• In Suwannee County, authorities reported "extreme destruction", CNN said - with trees falling onto homes

Image source, @PascoSheriff

Simon King
BBC weather presenter and meteorologist

Image source, CSU/CIRA/NOAA

Hurricane Helene was one of the largest to hit the Gulf Coast.

At approximately 420 miles wide – easily covering the whole of England and Wales – it comes just behind only two other hurricanes, Ida in 2017 and Opal in 1996 that were 460 miles wide.

Because of the size of Helene, the impacts of storm surge, damaging winds and heavy rain we’ve seen have been wide-reaching across Florida, Georgia and now into the Carolinas.

We've had another update from the National Hurricane Centre,, external which says the hurricane is moving further into Georgia at a speed of around 30mph (48km/h).

Residents being warned that the situation remains "dangerous and life-threatening".

The storm has weakened from a category four to one but the update reiterates that: "Persons should not leave their shelters."

It says two weather stations in southern Georgia have recently reported a wind gusts of over 90 mph (145 km/h).

The US Coast Guard rescued a man and his dog on Thursday, who were sailing 25 miles off the coast of Sanibel Island in Florida during Hurricane Helene.

The man called Channel 16 - the emergency channel for marine radios - after his 36ft (11m) sailboat came into trouble and started taking on water, the US Coast Guard said on X.

Image source, US Coast Guard South East

Sarah Keith-Lucas
BBC Weather presenter and meteorologist

Helene remains a hurricane but has weakened to category one, with winds now around 90mph (145km/h).

The most destructive feature of the storm as it moves inland will be intense rainfall as it pushes north-eastwards through Georgia, Tennessee and into Kentucky.

Up to 20 inches (508mm) is possible in places which may lead to catastrophic flash flooding.

Two people in Wheeler County in Georgia have died, the county coroner has told the BBC's US partner CBS News.

They reportedly died after a tornado picked up and overturned a mobile home, NBC News added. CNN said the tornado was related to the storm system from Hurricane Helene.

"The trailer was taken across the highway by the tornado, hitting two vehicles, before landing in a field," the Savannah-based TV station WTOC-TV reported.

One person also died in Florida after a road sign fell on their car.

More than 1.3 million homes and businesses were without power in Florida, according to tracking site poweroutage.us. For context, Florida has a population of about 22 million people.

A further 460,000 customers in Georgia, 67,000 in South Carolina and 20,000 in North Carolina have lost power, the site adds.

Earlier, officials warned that downed trees and power lines could cause power cuts.

Simon King
BBC weather presenter and meteorologist

Helene has been moving at quite a rapid pace – around 24mph – to the north-northeast with the eye of the storm now over the state of Georgia.

Because it was moving so fast, more people were experiencing hurricane or tropical storm force winds inland before Helene weakened – as hurricanes do as soon as they hit land and lose the energy provided by warm seas.

Damaging winds will be felt across Georgia and the Carolinas throughout Friday, especially over the higher terrain of the Southern Appalachians.

With up to 20 inches (500mm) of rain expected in some parts of Georgia and South Carolina, flash flooding and landslides will be the main concern away from coastal areas over the next 24 hours.

Hurricane Helene has weakened to a category one hurricane with wind speeds of 90 mph (145km/h).

It made landfall in Florida as a category four hurricane but has lost power as it sweeps north into the state of Georgia.

"Further weakening is expected as it continues to move north-northeast," said the National Weather Service in Tallahassee.

Christal Hayes
US reporter

More now from Briana Gagnier who lives in the coastal city Holmes Beach in Florida.

After she and her family swam out of her home with their two dogs, they ran to a neighbour's home across the street.

She says they helped rescue two elderly neighbours after a fire broke out nearby. The cause of the fire is unclear but it appears related to a golf cart battery, she says.

"I just can't believe this is real. The eye of the storm didn't even hit us straight on," she tells me "This island is completely devastated. Everywhere I look, devastation."

Image source, Briana Gagnier

Christal Hayes
US reporter

Briana Gagnier and her family saw water creeping into their home on Holmes Beach, Florida, and started moving their belongings onto tables and beds. Then came a loud bang.

"My family and I all looked at one another," she tells me "Then water just started pouring in."

A door to their garage broke open violently - caving way due to the floodwaters from Helene.

The family panicked. Gagnier says she grabbed her two dogs, Logan and Sunny, her wallet and some portable chargers. She placed her pet chinchilla in a cage and put him on top of the tallest piece of furniture she could find.

The water quickly rose to their shoulders. She and her family had to swim out of their home - which is located on a barrier island off Florida's Gulf Coast.

"Everyone was screaming and panicking," she says. "Whatever your worst idea of what this storm is - that is what we're seeing."

Image source, Briana Gagnier

In the last hour, Helene has been downgraded from a category four hurricane to category two.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in the US uses a system called the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale to categorise storms.

Hurricanes are assigned a category between one and five depending on the sustained wind speed.

Categories one and two are considered "dangerous" but those reaching category three and higher are considered major hurricanes "because of their potential for significant loss of life and damage".

The wind speed for hurricane categories starts at 74mph (119km/h) for category one and goes up to 157mph (253km/h) or higher for "catastrophic" category five storms. The NWS has more detail about categories and wind speeds., external

Hurricane Helene is now a strong category two hurricane with winds of 110 mph, according to the National Weather Service of Tallahassee - downgraded from a category four.

It released an update saying the eye of the storm is now near the city of Valdosta in the south of Georgia, near the border with Florida.

But it warned heavy rainfall and strong, damaging winds continue to be a threat.

Earlier, the weather service said people should treat these extreme winds "as if a tornado was approaching and move immediately to an interior room or shelter NOW!"

Simon King
BBC weather presenter and meteorologist

At category four with wind speeds of 140mph, Helene was the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida.

The storm surge has also been record-breaking. At Cedar Key, Florida a gauge has recorded a surge higher than 9ft (2.7m), exceeding the previous height set during Hurricane Idalia in August 2023.

Waters are still rising along the Big Bend coasts with the feared 15-20ft still expected around Carrabelle to Suwannee River.

Helene is now heading north to the state of Georgia, forecasters say., external

In their latest update at 01:00 ET (06:00 BST), the National Hurricane Center said the eyewall - the part of the storm that has the fastest winds below it - is now entering southern Georgia.

"Please do not leave your shelter and remain in place through the passage of these life-threatening conditions," the update said.

It said Helene "continues to produce catastrophic winds".

Isabelle Gerretsen
Senior journalist, BBC Future

Helene quickly intensified from a category one storm into a catastrophic category four hurricane.

Rapid intensification of hurricanes is becoming more common as oceans get hotter. The heat in the oceans is the fuel that powers storms - so the warmer the water is, the more energy they can pump into hurricanes.

Storms are now 25% more likely than they were 40 years ago to be classified as a major hurricane, reaching wind speeds of 111mph (180km/h).

With record-breaking ocean temperatures every day over the past year, scientists say more intense hurricanes are unsurprising.

• Get up to speed with how climate change is rewriting the rules of extreme storms

As we've been reporting, Hurricane Helene has now made landfall as a category four storm.

Here's the latest satellite and radar imagery:

Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Florida Big Bend region at around 23:10 EDT (03:10 GMT), just east of the mouth of the Aucilla River, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane centre.

The maximum sustained winds at impact were estimated at 140mph (225 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 930mb, it adds.

Gov DeSantis says there are likely to be "additional" fatalities in the state as the storm moves through.

"When Floridians wake up tomorrow morning, we're going to be waking up to a state where very likely there's been additional loss of life," he says. "And certainly, there's going to be loss of property."

He notes emergency crews don't know the extent of the impact yet due to it being night time in Florida.

"We're not getting a full picture yet," he says.

The press conference is now over, but stay with us as we continue to bring you the latest on Hurricane Helene.

Kevin Guthrie, executive director for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, is now speaking.

He warns that people seeing clear skies may be in the eye of the hurricane. He urges people "please do not go outside".

Numerous roads are now under water, he adds.

"We do not want anyone to drive through that so please turn around, do not drown."