Helene is nearing Cancun and the Yucatan Channel on Wednesday morning. The storm is slowly intensifying as it grows an inner core. The motion is northwest but should turn northerly later Wednesday as the ridge over the Gulf of Mexico weakens. This will allow Helene to enter the Gulf later today and begin to speed up Thursday. The storms will be under low wind shear, and very hot water temps. Intensification could become rapid Thursday as the storm nears Florida. Landfall will likely be Thursday evening in the Big Bend as a major hurricane. 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.