Tropical Weather Latest: Helene weakens into tropical storm over Georgia after landing in Florida

Hurricane Helene weakened into a tropical storm over Georgia early Friday after making landfall overnight in northwestern Florida as a Category 4 storm. Authorities rescued people trapped by floodwaters and more than 3 million customers were in the dark across much of the southeastern U.S.

Helene came ashore amid warnings from the National Hurricane Center that the enormous system could create a “nightmare” storm surge. There were at least four storm-related deaths.

Hurricane John once again weakened into a tropical storm Thursday evening as the slow-moving storm crept along the coast of the Mexican state of Michoacan, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Isaac strengthened Friday into a hurricane in the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean and could cause dangerous waves in parts of Bermuda, forecasters said.

Follow AP’s coverage of tropical weather at https://apnews.com/hub/hurricanes.

Here's the latest:

The morning after Helene

PERRY, Fla. — As the sun rose over Perry, Florida, the morning after Hurricane Helene plowed through, the sounds of roosters and generators pierced the air.

A flock of turkeys, roosters and chickens at this home off of U.S. Highway 27 survived the storm.

Helene leaves boats piled up in a Florida marina, littering the streets with mud and trash

GULFPORT, Fla. — Boats were piled up Friday on a marina in Gulfport, Florida — some just smashed up fiberglass remains.

Streets in the community located on the Gulf of Mexico in the St. Petersburg, Florida area were littered with mud, trash and tree limbs left by water that had receded by daybreak Friday.

Other streets were still covered in water several inches high. Photos posted by residents showed a pizzeria whose front window was smashed in by storm surge.

‘I just felt the whole house shake’

VALDOSTA, Ga. — Rhonda Bell and her husband were spending a sleepless night in the downstairs bedroom of their century-old home just outside Valdosta, Georgia, when Helene’s center passed early Friday in the hours after midnight.

The winds broke off tree limbs, tore away neighbors’ roof shingles and knocked down fence panels in the neighborhood with train tracks along one edge. Then came a crashing sound louder than the rest.

“I just felt the whole house shake,” Bell said after daybreak Friday.

A towering oak tree outside the house smashed through the roof of an upstairs bedroom and collapsed onto the living room below. The massive tree roots popped out of the ground, leaving a gaping muddy hole.

“ Thank God we’re both alive to tell about it,” Bell said.

Helene leaves at least 1 dead in South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Helene cut a path of destruction across western South Carolina as the storm moved further east than forecast.

Almost 45% of homes and businesses across the entire state were without power Friday morning. Whole counties were without electricity as winds gusted to near hurricane force. Trees or other debris blocked every major road leading into Greenwood, a city of about 22,000 people about 65 miles (105 kilometers) west of Columbia, Greenwood County officials said on social media.

“We’re still trying to assess what all is going on,” said Greenwood County Emergency Services Director Derek Oliver in a brief phone call.

All but about 1,000 of the 28,000 homes and businesses in the county were without power, according to poweroutage.us.

One death has been reported in the storm so far. A tree fell on a house Friday morning in Anderson, the Anderson County Coroner’s Office said.

Storm surge deposits 2 boats in a major Hernando Beach roadway

BROOKSVILLE, Fla — Storm surge from Helene deposited at least two boats in the middle of a main roadway in Hernando Beach, Florida, according to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office.

“Driving conditions hazardous,” the sheriff’s office said Friday.

Hernando County is about 50 miles north of Tampa.

First responders in Venice assess damage and conduct wellness checks

VENICE, Fla. — In Venice, Florida, police and fire rescue crews helped with 30 rescues of residents in coastal areas on Thursday, the city said in a social media post. The water has since receded, but teams were out Friday morning assessing damage and conducting door-to-door wellness checks.

“This morning we’re regrouping after doing some work last night with evacuating some people from some of the areas that were affected by the storm surge and the salt water intrusion to homes and low-lying areas,” Police Chief Charlie Thorpe said in a video posted on social media.

“It all started on the jetties, worked its way to Golden Beach when we had a significant storm surge there and eventually into Harbor Lights last night. We were working hard there to do whatever we needed to do for life-safety issues and we’re back in those areas this morning checking on things,” he added.

Isaac strengthens into a hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean

Isaac strengthened Friday into a hurricane in the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean and could cause dangerous waves in parts of Bermuda, forecasters said.

The storm was about 980 miles (1,577 kilometers) east-northeast of Bermuda and about 1,175 miles (1,890 km) west of the Azores, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (121 kph). It was heading east at 12 mph (19 kph).

There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect, but the waves could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions in Bermuda, the Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Potentially dangerous waves also could spread to the Azores, the center said. Isaac is expected to strengthen before gradually weakening by the end of the weekend.

Residents in Florida’s Big Bend region wake up to widespread power outages

PERRY, Fla. — Residents of Florida’s Big Bend region woke up to widespread power outages Friday morning after Hurricane Helene made landfall overnight near the mouth of the Aucilla River.

Helene slammed ashore in the largely rural stretch of Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, becoming the third hurricane to batter that swath of the state in a little over a year.

As the sun rose over U.S. Highway 27 outside of Perry, cars dodged and weaved among downed pine trees that blocked portions of the road, some ensnarled in power lines. Emergency workers were already on hand clearing debris before 8 am. The air smelled of pine needles and fresh wood — from the staggering trees shattered by the storm, some snapped in half like toothpicks.

Here’s the latest on Hurricane Helene

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 Georgia early Friday after making landfall overnight in northwestern Florida as a Category 4 storm.

Helene came ashore amid warnings from the National Hurricane Center that the enormous system could create a “nightmare” storm surge. There were at least four storm-related deaths.

Video on social media sites showed sheets of rain coming down in Perry, Florida, near where Helene made landfall, and siding being torn off buildings. One local news station showed a home that had flipped over. The community and much of surrounding Taylor County were without power.

▶ Catch up on what happened overnight with Hurricane Helene