Hurricane Helene is expected to make landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast on Thursday, but in the meantime, heavy rains and damaging winds are expected to hit parts of the region, including Atlanta — home of this week's vital MLB series featuring the Braves and the New York Mets.

Forecasters say they expect Tropical Storm Helene in the Caribbean Sea to strengthen rapidly and become a hurricane as it moves north across the Gulf of Mexico toward the U.S.