Helene has been downgraded to a Tropical Storm after hammering the Southeast region of the US overnight, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The tropical storm is moving inland over Georgia and is expected to pass over the central and northeastern parts of the state. Forecasters project Helene to slow down and arrive in the Tennessee Valley later today and Saturday.

The NHC warned that "life-threatening" storm surges, winds, and heavy rain could still impact the Southeast US.

The storm initially made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region late Thursday night as a Category 4 Hurricane with winds around 140 mph.

Over two million people are without power and multiple flight cancellations have occurred - including in Charlotte Douglas International Airport — which is American Airlines’ second largest hub in the U.S.

At least three people have died.

More than 2 million customers are without power in the Southeast region of the U.S., and multiple airports have closed as Hurricane Helene leaves a path of destruction across multiple states.

In Florida, Tampa International Airport, St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport, Tallahassee International Airport, and Gainesville Regional Airport have all been closed on Thursday, according to the Federal Flight Administration.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport -- which is American Airlines' second-largest hub in the US -- has canceled 114 flights and delayed 13 flights as of 4:45 a.m. ET., according to Flight Aware.

American Airlines has canceled 143 flights on Friday.

Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has canceled 55 flights and delayed 18. Departures face a ground delay of over an hour, according to the FAA.

Jacksonville International Airport has over two dozen cancellations and Raleigh-Durham International Airport has 13 cancellations.

Roughly 1.25 million customers are without power in Florida, over 671,000 in Georgia, around 218,000 in South Carolina, nearly 62,000 in North Carolina, according to PowerOutageUS.

In Georgia, Southwest Georgia Regional Airport in Dougherty County is closed to the public but remains open for emergency services and military operations.

A Florida man needed a kayak to move around his flooded living room as waters from Hurricane Helene rushed inside his Tampa home.

Matt Heller says he was waiting out the storm when the storm surge broke into his house.

"The storm started real slowly and then all of a sudden the storm just kind of came in and (the waters) been rising and rising," Heller told CNN during a candlelight interview.

Heller documented the extreme flooding inside his home which led him to sit inside a kayak as a camera mounted to the wall took his picture.

Heller, the founder of HornBlasters train horns, said he didn't experience much rain but the wind and storm surge caused the water to rise in what he estimated to be an hour and a half.

"The home's flooded before, we had an inch of water here or there but nothing like this," Heller said on TikTok. "This is definitely the biggest flood we've ever had."

Hurricane Helene has weakened to a Category 1 over Georgia as more than 1.7M people are left in the dark early Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center. 

The storm is rapidly moving over Georgia at around 26 mph and is still considered “life-threatening.” 

The maximum wind speeds have decreased to nearly 90 mph with “higher gusts.” 

“When in the eye, people are reminded to not venture out into the relative calm, as hazardous winds will increase very quickly when the eye passes," the organization said.

Storm conditions continue to spread northward.

According to poweroutage.us, over 1.7 million customers are experiencing power outages in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Alabama.

More than 1.3 million customers are without power in Florida while an additional 400K suffered outages in Georgia, according to PowerOutageUS.

Helene is expected to “turn northwestward and slow down over the Tennessee Valley later today and Saturday.”

Hurricane Helene entered Georgia as a Category 2 storm at around 1 a.m. on Friday.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Helene's eye has begun to enter Georgia hours after it made landfall in Florida late Thursday night as a dangerous Category 4 storm.

The storm is sustaining maximum winds of 110 mph.

Helene continues to produce “catastrophic winds” and is considered an “extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation.”

The National Hurricane Center advised that people remain in shelters when the eye passes through their vicinity, even if it appears "relatively calm."

“Hazardous winds will increase very quickly when the eye passes.”

Two people were killed when a suspected tornado overturned their mobile home in Georgia late Thursday night as Hurricane Helene made its way inland toward the Peach State.

The tornado, created from the devastating winds from the storm, struck a rural part of Wheeler County GA, Coroner Ted Mercer told WMAZ.

The victims' bodies were discovered in a field about 100 yards from where their home was, Wheeler County EMA director Steve Adams told the outlet.

Children were also inside but were safely located.

Footage captured Tampa General Hospital being protected by rising flood waters with help from a temporary barrier built before Hurricane Helene made landfall.

"The water-impermeable barrier is designed to withstand storm surge up to 15 feet," the hospital wrote on X.

An employee was captured on video checking on a portion of the wall as flood waters well above the worker's head rushed past unable to get inside the building.

The mobile flood protection, created by AquaFence, was erected to keep the building safe as it is located on Davis Islands surrounded by Hillsborough Bay.

Although the hospital has become fortified from the waters, it has activated its emergency response plans and is "ready to care for our community," the hospital wrote.

A Florida driver was killed when a sign fell on top of a vehicle during Hurricane Helene late Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

The horrific tragedy happened on Interstate 4 in Ybor City outside of Tampa Bay at mile marker 1 around 7:53 p.m., according to WTSP.

"It shows you that it’s very dangerous conditions out there,' DeSantis said. "You need to be, right now, just hunkering down. Now is not the time to be going out. Not only are we seeing it hit landfall in Northern Florida, you’re still seeing surge and water rising in parts of Florida far south from the Big Bend area. 

The eye of the storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane — with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph — in the Florida Big Bend region around 11:10 p.m. just east of the mouth of the Aucilla River – about 10 miles west-southwest of Perry, Florida.

More than one million people were without power in Florida when Hurricane Helene made landfall at around 11:10 p.m. on Thursday.

Just over 1,056,342 of the 11,400,000 customers tracked were left in the dark as the center of the Category 4 storm struck Florida's Big Bend area, according to Poweroutage.us.

In Georgia, 38,000 suffered power outages.

The storm unleashed max sustained winds of 140 mph and was moving 20 mph North-Northeast, the National Hurricane Center said.

Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida late Thursday night as a dangerous Category 4 storm that will slam the sunshine state with torrential rainfall, potentially “unsurvivable” storm surge and life-threatening winds.  

The catastrophic storm – one of the largest ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico – strengthened to an “extremely dangerous ” Category 4 hurricane on Thursday with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph impacting Florida’s Big Bend, according to the National Hurricane Center.

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