Hurricane Helene’s speed has increased to more than 125 miles per hour and could bring a storm surge in the Florida Big Bend area as high as 20 feet on Thursday evening, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).   

In the NHC’s advisory released at 5 p.m., “the potentially catastrophic hurricane-force winds are expected within the eyewall of Helene and will spread inland over portions of northern Florida and southern Georgia when Helene makes landfall in the Florida Big Bend region this evening.”

Helene’s sustained winds of 125 mph are only 5 mph away from being a Category 4, which ranges from 130 to 155 mph. Wind guest in the Gainesville area could be as high as 75 mph and North Florida is under a tornado watch.

People living along the coastal counties in the Florida Big Bend area are asked to evacuate and take shelter. Multiple shelters are open throughout North in Alachua, Dixie, Levy, Columbia, Gilchrist and Suwannee counties.

Public school closures were announced throughout the North Florida area along with sandbagging locations in Alachua and Columbia counties and in Dixie, Levy and Gilchrist counties. The University of Florida and Santa Fe College in Gainesville and Florida Gateway College in Lake City also announced closures for Thursday and Friday.

Alachua County released the Alachua County Ready website with resources to prepare for the storm. For Gainesville area storm alerts, sign up for email phone and text notifications at www.alertgnv.org.

UF/IFAS has a resource page on how to prepare for storms that includes tips on how to prepare for a disaster, taking care of your home, health and pets, what to do with you livestock and agriculture and how to prepare your trees and landscape.

Area high school football games have been rescheduled, canceled or postponed.

The NHC also reported Tropical Storm Isaac is making a turn toward the east-northeast and expected to reach or be near hurricane strength by late Friday or early Saturday where it could hit Bermuda.