Florida residents are preparing for a heavy blow from Hurricane Helene as it moves toward Tallahassee, where it’s expected to make landfall Thursday night with winds reaching 140 mph and life-threatening storm surges.

An enormous Hurricane Helene swamped parts of Mexico on Wednesday as it churned on a path forecasters said would take it to Florida as a major storm with a surge that could swallow entire homes, a chilling warning that

Helene is expected to rapidly intensify into a major and massive hurricane with 115-mph winds by the time it makes landfall Thursday.