Hurricane Helene is strengthening this morning over the eastern Gulf. The storm is still on track to make landfall along the Big Bend of FL as a major hurricane with winds over 115 mph and storm surge up to 20 feet! The storm is sitting over very warm water temperatures and low wind shear. This will allow the storms to continue strengthening for the rest of the day. The big question remains how much can it grow. The storm is large with tropical storm force winds extending over 345 miles away from the center. The center has remained broad as well. If the core of the storm can contract some we will likely see the storm rapidly intensify Thursday afternoon. Either way the storms will likely be a category 3 at landfall, but a category 4 is still not impossible.