“Helene threatens heavy rain, flash flooding, landslides, and damaging winds to the mountains and Piedmont areas of our state,” Cooper said in a statement. “Now is the time for North Carolinians to prepare, make sure emergency kits are up-to-date and pay attention to the weather alerts in your area.”

Fast-moving Hurricane Helene is advancing across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida, and it has been upgraded to a Category 2 storm.

Morgan Sundberg, owner of Kane's Cattle Co. in Crystal River, Florida, shares updates on what is expected from Hurricane Helene.

The state of Florida has issued a number of mandatory evacuation orders as Hurricane Helene strengthened over the Gulf of Mexico. As of Thursday afternoon, the storm had grown into a category 3 hurricane and is expected to make landfall on Florida’s Big Bend later in the evening.

Helene is expected to be a major hurricane — meaning a Category 3 or higher — when it makes landfall on Florida's northwestern coast Thursday evening.

City and state officials are preparing for flash floods, heavy winds and downed trees as Hurricane Helene, a massive and potentially historic storm, plows through south Georgia and into Atlanta. Why it matters: National Weather Service forecasters say the storm will drop intense amounts of rain — possibly over a foot in some areas — and unleash powerful,

Though rainfall measurements are up to 8 inches in some areas already, Helene hasn't even hit WNC as of Thursday morning.

We are expecting on-and-off heavy rain as we go throughout the day out ahead of Helene, which will start to move in overnight.