RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Helene strengthened into a hurricane Wednesday morning near the Yucatan Peninsula and continues to get stronger, now expected to be a Category 4 before landfall Thursday night in Florida. Hurricane Helene strengthening, bringing tornado threats to North Carolina As of Thursday morning, the National Hurricane Center said Helene had sustained winds of 90 miles per hour. The Category 1 Hurricane is 350 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida. Current forecasts from the National Hurricane Center have Helene becoming a category 2 with sustained winds of 110 miles per hour early Thursday. From there Helene will rapidly intensify, becoming a category 3 with winds close to 130 miles per hour Thursday afternoon. The hurricane will be large; its wind field already reaches hundreds of miles from the center. Tropical storm-force winds are extending nearly 350 miles from the center, with hurricane-force winds currently extending out 25 miles from the center. This is why impacts will be felt well outside the center, including for us here in Central North Carolina. NC Impacts Rainfall in North Carolina will be highest over the mountains where up to a foot of rainfall is possible through the weekend. In central North Carolina, rainfall totals will generally be between 1" to 2", with localized higher amounts between up to 3". The farther west you are, the more rain will fall, and the stronger the winds will be. Wind gusts in Central North Carolina winds will be between 20 and 40 miles per hour. Isolated strong to severe storms will be possible with flash flooding and isolated tornadoes Friday morning and afternoon. Isolated to scattered power outages will also be possible. The good news is Helene will pull away from North Carolina by Saturday morning. The weekend will be drier.