As peak hurricane season approaches, meteorologists are asking residents of the Florida Gulf Coast to prepare for a potential Category 4 hurricane.
The National Hurricane Center is keeping an eye on Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine in the Caribbean Sea as models show the formation potentially hitting the Panhandle.
“The main takeaway is that it’s going to be a pretty big storm,” said Caitlin Baldwin, National Weather Service in Mobile meteorologist. “We’ll likely see impacts extending outside of that cone. We’ll start to see heavy rainfall, wind and storm surge impacts.”
Live coverage: Tropical Cyclone Nine forms, could become Hurricane Helene. Florida residents should prepare
Baldwin said its slightly too early to tell how the storm will affect Pensacola as it could move closer to or further away from the area. However, she did say that Pensacola could begin to see inclement weather as early as Thursday.
The NHC says the formation could form into a tropical depression or tropical storm either Tuesday or Wednesday as it moves northward into the Gulf of Mexico.
“The big thing right now is we’ll probably be looking at heavy rain, wind and storm surge by late this week,” Baldwin said. “We’ll see some high surf and deadly rip currents that will begin Wednesday evening.”
AccuWeather forecasters are predicting the system could become a Category 3 hurricane before making landfall, possibly on Florida’s Panhandle. Because rapid intensification is a strong possibility, residents were advised to prepare for a Category 4 storm.
“Everyone along the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend region needs to be prepared for hurricane impacts,” said AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva, adding the system has the potential to become the strongest hurricane landfall in the U.S. so far this season.
“AccuWeather expert meteorologists expect this to be a highly impactful storm,” said AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter. “This could be the storm that the 2024 hurricane season is remembered for.”
Escambia County Emergency Management urges residents to be prepared for hurricanes, planning what you will need in the event you cannot leave your home or if you need to evacuate.
Your hurricane strategy should include evacuation plans, routes, supplies necessary to stay or leave and to make sure all supplies last at least one week.
The next named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season is Helene.
Cheryl McCloud of the USA Today Network – Florida contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola hurricane: What to know about Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine
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