As Hurricane Helene approaches Florida, Georgia and Alabama, metro Atlanta and its surrounding communities are bracing for torrential rain, heavy flooding and widespread power outages.

Helene is a large storm, so it could bring life-threatening storm surge for the entire west coast of the Florida Peninsula. Storm surge could reach 15 to 20 feet in the Florida Panhandle. The Tampa area could get 4 to 8 feet of storm surge.

Many areas are forecast to see dangerous storm surges, especially between Panama City and Tampa. The coast stretching from Ochlockonee River to Chassahowitzka could see between 10 and 15 feet of water. Nearby areas could see between 5 and 10 feet of water, and the Tampa Bay area is forecast to experience between 5 and 8 feet of storm surge.