Helene is forecast to make landfall in Florida on Thursday night.
Helene -- which has strengthened to a major Category 4 hurricane -- is taking aim at Florida, where it's forecast to make landfall along the Big Bend area on Thursday night.
Hurricane Helene has grown stronger as it nears landfall, with sustained winds of 140 mph.
As of 9 p.m. ET, the hurricane was 65 miles west of Cedar Key, Florida, and 90 miles south of Tallahassee.
The hurricane is moving at 24 mph and is still on track to make landfall between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET.
The National Weather Service issued an extreme wind warning for three cities in the Tallahassee area on Thursday night.
The warning is in effect until midnight in Perry, Madison and Monticello.
"Treat these imminent extreme winds as if a tornado was approaching and move immediately to an interior room or shelter NOW!" the agency said.
As Florida is bracing for Hurricane Helene to make landfall, heavy rain and winds are battering Florida's Gulf Coast.
Over 500,000 customers have lost power across Florida in the run up to Hurricane Helene making landfall.
As of 9 p.m. ET, 545,587 customers did not have power usage, according to poweroutage.us.
Helene is expected to make landfall between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET in Florida's northeast Gulf Coast region.
