"Helene stands toe-to-toe with any of the threats that Florida has faced over the past ten years or indeed really over hurricane history."

The highest landfall probability is somewhere along the eastern part of the Florida Panhandle late Thursday evening, forecasters said.

Helene rapidly intensified into a hurricane Wednesday as it plows toward a Florida landfall as the strongest hurricane to hit the US in over a year. The storm will also grow into a massive, sprawling monster as it continues to intensify,