A hurricane made landfall in northwestern Florida as a Category 4 storm as forecasters warned the enormous system could create a “nightmare” storm surge and bring dangerous winds and rain across much of the southeast.

Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida as a Category 4 colossus with winds of up to 140 mph. Winds and torrential rain are expected to continue Friday.

Helene continues to weaken while moving farther inland over Georgia. The storm was about 40 miles east of Macon and about 100 miles southeast of Atlanta, moving north at 30 mph at 5 a.m., the center in Miami reported.