Authorities rescued people trapped by floodwaters and more than 3 million customers were in the dark across much of the southeastern U.S. as Hurricane Helene weakened to a tropical storm over

Tampa Bay area of Florida, particularly St. Petersburg, was hit hard by Hurricane Helene, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm Sept. 26, 2024.

Hurricane Helene intensified into a major Category 3 hurricane on Thursday with 120 mph sustained winds, with the National Hurricane Center predicting it will grow further bringing devastation to Florida’s Gulf Coast and inland toward Tallahassee.