Hurricane Helene's effects will be felt in Chicago as early as Friday, according to forecasts
CHICAGO (CBS) — Hurricane Helene is now the fourth landfalling U.S. hurricane this year, and is set to bring strong wind gusts unusually far inland Friday and Saturday.
Helen made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida as a category 4 hurricane late Thursday night. It had built up as a devastating major hurricane with wind gusts as high as 140 miles per hour.
The storm is racing inland at an unusually fast forward speed, so even as its access to warm water which serves as hurricane fuel is cut off after landfall, the storm will not have much time to weaken on its journey through the southeastern U.S.
Hurricane warnings were placed into effect 200 miles inland – nearly to Atlanta, Georgia, where 70 mph wind gusts will be possible Thursday night. As the storm is absorbed into a larger area of low pressure sitting to its west, a tight pressure gradient will lead to strong winds as far north as Illinois and Indiana.
Winds in our area will be strongest along and south of Interstate 80, where gusts may reach 45 mph from 11 a.m. Friday through 7 a.m. Saturday.
A wind advisory is in effect for Kankakee, Newton and Jasper counties from 1 p.m. until midnight Friday for the potential of a few downed tree limbs and even brief, localized power outages. While the occasional strong thunderstorm brings similar wind gusts to our area at times throughout the year, these winds will be more widespread and long-lasting.
Farther north in Chicago, wind gusts are expected to reach 35 to 40 mph from late morning Friday through early Saturday. These strong winds will disrupt plans, rearrange some patio furniture, and create large, breaking waves along the lakeshore. Hazardous beach conditions will persist for swimmers and boaters throughout the day Saturday.
The remnants of Hurricane Helene are also expected to bring scattered rain showers to Chicagoland, mainly Friday night and Saturday.
Chicago area volunteers head to Florida ahead of Helene's landfall
Despite the danger, some Chicagoans are going out and putting themselves in the path of Helene. Red Cross volunteers bracing for impact and for many weeks of work.
Helene will be the first hurricane for Pattie Eakin of Mount Prospect, who is now in Tampa.
"As of as my morning meeting this morning, they told me that we have 2,700 residents or clients in shelters across the state right now, and we have 70 shelters up and running right now," said Eakin.
On Thursday afternoon, Eakin was in a hotel room waiting until Helene hits. She arrived from O'Hare International Airport overnight Wednesday into Thursday and landed at Tampa International Airport—which closed at 2 a.m. Thursday to commercial and cargo operations.
"I got in about 11 o'clock last night to a deserted airport, the Tampa Airport," Eakin said. "I flew into Tampa, and I think the only people in the Tampa Airport were Red Cross volunteers that were also arriving."
The Red Cross has shelters around Florida, as some people board up and leave their own homes. In Tampa crews installed flood barriers around the hospital.
Eakin said in addition to being her first hurricane, this is also her first Red Cross deployment. She said she has spent years preparing for a storm that was racing toward her late Thursday.
"This is a very fluid operation, and they will send me and others other volunteers where we're needed," Eakin said. "But right now, we're just kind of waiting and watching just like everybody else, and seeing where the greatest need is going to be."
As the storm approached, outer bands brought rain and wind. Streets flooded on Anna Maria Island—east of Bradenton and bordering Tampa Bay.
Mandatory evacuations were underway Thursday in at least 20 coastal communities.
"I've been so busy, it hasn't really hit me," said Red Cross volunteer AJ Jamal of Wheaton, who arrived in Tallahassee Tuesday.
Jamal said has been working between Red Cross locations until the "ground stop."
"The work just continues supporting our shelters and supporting the operations," he said. "It's just that we're not in a Red Cross building, or we're not making site visits. We're just kind of waiting it out."
Both Eakin and Jamal have committed to a two-week deployment though acknowledging that is subject to change.
"I know what it's like to be in a shelter where people's lives have just been decimated, and I know what that is like," Eakin said. "So I'm very prepared to help the people here."
Eakin said she was inspired to do such work after another hurricane—Hurricane Katrina back in 2005. Eakin didn't have the skillset to be an emergency volunteer at the time, but signed up and got trained.
She is encouraging others who are interested to do the same.
Eakin has now committed to be in Florida for two weeks, but could be asked to extend.