Hurricane Helene: Airports, colleges close in Florida as potential Category 4 storm expected to wreak ‘unprecedented damage’ | 25 Sept 2024 | Update: 7:55 p.m. ET Hurricane Helene is threatening the entire coast of Florida with up to 120 mph winds and 15 feet of rain. Helene could become a category 4 storm. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency in almost every county in the state. Update 8:22 p.m. ET Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declares state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Helene’s landfall –Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency for Virginia as the rapidly intensifying Hurricane Helene threatened the state with strong wind and rainfall. While the storm is not forecasted to hit Virginia as hard as Florida, Youngkin warned that Helene could still batter the state with bad weather.