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Hurricane Helene live updates: 44 dead in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina
Flash flood emergencies are ongoing in multiple states.
Helene made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region Thursday night as a massive Category 4 hurricane -- the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the Big Bend on record.
Helene has since weakened and is now post-tropical, but its remnants will continue to produce dangerous weather. The center of the storm is now over Kentucky with heavy rain and gusty winds across a large area from Missouri to Ohio to the Carolinas.
Latest headlines:
Helene’s center to pass east of Macon, Georgia
The center of Hurricane Helene is projected to pass east of Macon, Georgia, after 3 a.m. ET, according to the latest forecast.
Hurricane warnings and tropical storm warnings remain in effect through the early morning hours of Friday.
The storm is expected to slow and weaken on Friday, turning northwestward to move through Georgia toward the Tennessee-North Carolina border, the National Hurricane Center said.
-ABC News’ Richard Von Ohlen
Helene downgraded to Category 1
Hurricane Helene was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane in the early hours of Friday having moved around 100 miles inland into Florida and Georgia.
Its sustained winds dropped to 90 mph, with further weakening expected through to 5 a.m. ET.
Helene is maintaining speed at around 26 mph, heading north-northeast through central Georgia.
Macon, Atlanta, and Augusta are expected to experience damaging winds and torrential rain over the next two to three hours.
"Life-threatening storm surge, winds and heavy rains continue," the National Hurricane Center wrote on X.
-ABC News' Richard Von Ohlen
People told to 'remain in place' as Category 2 Helene moves into southern Georgia
The National Hurricane Center has warned residents to "remain in place" as Hurricane Helene moves into southern Georgia as a Category 2 storm.
NHC advises people not to step outside when the calm of the eye is over them, as winds will increase after Helene passes.
Helene made landfall in Perry, Florida, as a Category 4, with 140 mph winds, but the speed of its maximum sustained winds has dropped to 110 mph.
The hurricane is moving across land at 26 mph.
Meanwhile, more than 200,000 customers are without power in Georgia, according to poweroutage.us.
-ABC News' Richard Von Ohlen
Wind gusts in Perry, Florida, clock in at 99 mph
Hurricane Helene has brought strong wind gusts across Florida's West Coast.
Perry, where Helene made landfall, recorded wind gusts of 99 mph.
Sarasota-Bradenton Airport in Sarasota reported gusts of 74 mph.
Tampa International Airport saw 68 mph winds
St. Petersburg reported wind gusts of 82 mph.
Clearwater Beach recorded 75 mph winds.
A maritime station in Cedar Key recorded wind gusts of 84 mph, while Egmont Channel noted 81 mph.