Helene is expected to rapidly intensify into a major and massive hurricane with 115-mph winds by the time it makes landfall Thursday.

Evacuations are underway and time is running out for Floridians to prepare for Tropical Storm Helene, which threatens to hit as the strongest storm to make landfall in the United States in over a year.

Forecasters say they expect Tropical Storm Helene in the Caribbean Sea to strengthen rapidly and become a hurricane as it moves north across the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday toward the U.S.