The D.C. area will stay mostly dry on Thursday as southeastern states prepare for Hurricane Helene’s arrival. The tropical storm will also impact the D.C. region, bringing tropical rain and potential flooding on Friday.

Fast-moving Hurricane Helene is expected to slam into Florida on Thursday. But will the powerful storm impact the Washington, D.C. region later this week?

Helene had sustained winds of abut 140 mph, making it the strongest storm to ever hit Florida's Big Bend, said Phil Klotzbach, a senior research scientist at Colorado State University. "Treat these imminent extreme winds as if a tornado was approaching and move immediately to the safe room in your shelter.

Officials issued dire warnings, pleading with residents in coastal areas along the hurricane's path to evacuate ahead of catastrophic winds and a potentially deadly storm surge, the wall of seawater pushed on land by hurricane-force winds,

The National Hurricane Center predicts Helene will make landfall in northern Florida as a Category 4 hurricane with a ‘deadly’ storm surge up to 20 feet.