Helene becomes a hurricane. The storm is expected to intensify and grow in size over the next 30 hours or so. Intensification could become rapid Thursday as the storms near Florida. As a major hurricane, Helene will likely make landfall Thursday evening in the Big Bend. Helene will have a giant wind field, so impacts will stretch across a large portion of Florida throughout Thursday. The storms will quickly move inland into Georgia Thursday night, bringing more rain and gusty winds.