By KATE PAYNE and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH, Associated Press CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Tropical storm force winds began battering Florida on Thursday as Hurricane Helene prepared to make landfall, with forecasters warning that the enormous storm could create a “nightmare” surge along the coast and churn up damaging winds hundreds of miles inland across much of the southeastern U.S. Helene, which has already strenthened to a major Category 3 storm, is expected to get even more powerful ahead of its expected evening landfall on Florida’s northwestern coast. Hurricane and flash flood warnings extend far beyond the coast up into northern Georgia and western North Carolina. The storm’s wrath was starting to be felt Thursday afternoon, with water lapping over a road on the northern tip of Siesta Key near Sarasota and covering some intersections in St. Pete Beach along Florida’s Gulf Coast. Lumber and other debris from a fire in Cedar Key a week ago was crashing ashore in the rising water. And winds of up to 125 mph (205 kph) have already left around 180,000 Florida homes and businesses without power. Louis Ward, 57, rides his bike along the the Gulfport waterfront as it takes on water as Hurricane Helene makes its way toward the Florida Panhandle, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024 in Gulfport. (Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via AP) Vera Kelly, of Tallahassee, lies on a cot after evacuating to a hurricane shelter with her grandchildren and great grandchildren, at Fairview Middle School, ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall here today, in Leon County, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken at 5:51 p.m. EDT and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Helene in the Gulf of Mexico, Wednesday, Sept. 25 2024. (NOAA via AP) Surfers take advantage of heavy winds along Higgs Beach in Key West, Florida, on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. Despite passing the Florida Keys by hundreds of miles, sustained winds over 40 mph churned up the usually calm, nearshore waters. (Rob O’Neal/The Key West Citizen via AP) Visitors to the Southernmost Point marker in Key West, Fla., are hit by wind driven waves from approaching Hurricane Helene on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (Rob O’Neal/The Key West Citizen via AP) Paulette McLin takes in the scene outside their summer home ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday evening, in Alligator Point, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) A traffic advisory sign on westbound S.R. 408 near downtown Orlando, Fla., informs commuters of the approaching Hurricane Helene, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP) Dave McCurley boards up the windows to his home in advance of Tropical Storm Helene, expected to make landfall as a hurricane, in Ochlockonee Bay, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) A person walks in the rain after the passing of Hurricane John in Marquelia, Mexico, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Alberto Cruz) Dave McCurley boards up the windows to his home in advance of Tropical Storm Helene, expected to make landfall as a hurricane, in Ochlockonee Bay, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) A shopper checks out nearly empty shelves in the lunch meat section of a Walmart, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024 in Tallahassee, Fla. Grocery stores and gas stations were seeing heavy traffic in advance of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday night in the Big Bend area. (AP Photo/Phil Sears) A shopper passes by empty shelves in the bread section of a Walmart, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024 in Tallahassee, Fla. Grocery stores and gas stations were seeing heavy traffic in advance of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday night in the Big Bend area. (AP Photo/Phil Sears) Show Caption1 of 12Louis Ward, 57, rides his bike along the the Gulfport waterfront as it takes on water as Hurricane Helene makes its way toward the Florida Panhandle, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024 in Gulfport. (Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via AP) Expand Beyond Florida, up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain has fallen in the North Carolina mountains, with up to 14 (36 centimeters) more possible before the deluge ends, setting the stage for flooding that forecasters warned could be worse than anything seen in the past century. With forecasters also warning of tornadoes and mudslides, the governors of Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia have all declared emergencies, as did President Joe Biden for several of the states. He is sending the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Florida on Friday to view the damage. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday morning that models suggest Helene will make landfall further east than earlier forecast, lessening the chances for a direct hit on the capital city of Tallahassee, whose metro area has a population of around 395,000. The shift has the storm aimed squarely at the sparsely-populated Big Bend area, home to fishing villages and vacation hideaways where Florida’s Panhandle and peninsula meet. Bo Manausa , right, and his friend Josh Simmons pull a boat out of the water ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday evening, in Alligator Point, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) “Please write your name, birthday, and important information on your arm or leg in a PERMANENT MARKER so that you can be identified and family notified,” the sheriff’s office in mostly rural Taylor County warned those who chose not to evacuate in a Facebook post, the dire advice similar to what other officials have dolled out during past hurricanes. Still, Philip Tooke, a commercial fisherman who took over the business his father founded near the region’s Apalachee Bay, plans to ride out this storm like he did during Hurricane Michael and the others – on his boat. “If I lose that, I don’t have anything.” Many, though, were heeding the mandatory evacuation orders that stretched from the Panhandle south along the Gulf Coast in low-lying areas around Tallahassee, Gainesville, Cedar Key, Lake City, Tampa and Sarasota. Among them was Sharonda Davis, one of several gathered at a Tallahassee shelter worried their mobile homes wouldn’t withstand the winds. She said the hurricane’s size is “scarier than anything because it’s the aftermath that we’re going to have to face.” Federal authorities were staging search-and-rescue teams as the National Weather Service office in Tallahassee forecast storm surges of up to 20 feet (6 meters) and warned they could be particularly “catastrophic and unsurvivable” in Apalachee Bay. “Please, please, please take any evacuation orders seriously!” the office said, describing the surge scenario as “a nightmare.” This stretch of Florida known as the Forgotten Coast has been largely spared by the widespread condo development and commercialization that dominates so many of Florida’s beach communities. The region is loved for its natural wonders — the vast stretches of salt marshes, tidal pools and barrier islands. “You live down here, you run the risk of losing everything to a bad storm,” said Anthony Godwin, 20, who lives about a half-mile (800 meters) from the water in the coastal town of Panacea, as he stopped for gas before heading west toward his sister’s house in Pensacola. Bobby Joe Edwards, Sr., and his wife Lillie Edwards, of Walkalla, Fla., and their grandson Tavarrious Dixon, right, rest inside a hurricane evacuation shelter at Fairview Middle School, ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall here today, in Leon County, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) Along Florida’s Gulf Coast, school districts and multiple universities canceled classes. Airports in Tampa, Tallahassee and Clearwater were closed Thursday, while cancellations were widespread elsewhere in the state and beyond. Helene was about 130 miles (205 kilometers) southwest of Tampa early Thursday evening and moving north-northeast at 23 mph (37 kph) with top sustained winds of at least 125 mph (205 kph). While Helene will likely weaken as it moves inland, damaging winds and heavy rain were expected to extend to the southern Appalachian Mountains, where landslides were possible, forecasters said. The center warned that much of the region could experience prolonged power outages and flooding. Tennessee was among the states expected to get drenched. Helene had swamped parts of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Wednesday, flooding streets and toppling trees as it passed offshore and brushed the resort city of Cancun. In western Cuba, Helene knocked out power to more than 200,000 homes and businesses as it brushed past the island. Helene is forecast to be one of the largest storms in breadth in years to hit the region, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. He said since 1988, only three Gulf hurricanes were bigger than Helene’s predicted size: 2017’s Irma, 2005’s Wilma and 1995’s Opal. Jose Gonzales and his son Jadin Gonzales, 14, fill sand bags ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday evening, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Clyattville, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) Areas 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of the Georgia-Florida line can expect hurricane conditions. More than half of Georgia’s public school districts and several universities canceled classes. The state has opened its parks to evacuees, and their pets, including horses. And overnight curfews were imposed in many cities and counties in south Georgia, including Albany, Valdosta and Thomasville. “This is one of the biggest storms we’ve ever had,” said Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who has authorized up to 500 National Guard soldiers. For Atlanta, Helene could be the worst strike on a major Southern inland city in 35 years, said University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd. Related Articles National News | Smartmatic, Newsmax reach settlement in 2020 election defamation case National News | Military recruiting rebounds after several tough years, but challenges remain National News | Feds charge NYC mayor with selling his influence to foreign nationals. He says he won’t resign National News | US health authorities need to play a larger role in cannabis policy, a new report says National News | Today in History: September 26, Kennedy-Nixon face off in TV debate Helene is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year because of record-warm ocean temperatures. In further storm activity, Tropical Storm Isaac formed Wednesday in the Atlantic and was expected to strengthen as it moves eastward across the open ocean, possibly becoming a hurricane by the end of the week, forecasters said. Officials said its swells and winds could affect parts of Bermuda and eventually the Azores by the weekend. In the Pacific, former Hurricane John reformed Wednesday as a tropical storm and strengthened Thursday morning back into a hurricane as it threatened areas of Mexico’s western coast with flash flooding and mudslides. Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador raised John’s death toll to five Thursday as the communities along the country’s Pacific coast prepared for the storm to make a second landfall. ___ Hollingsworth reported from Kansas City, Missouri. Associated Press journalists Seth Borenstein in New York; Jeff Amy in Atlanta; Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Andrea Rodríguez in Havana; Mark Stevenson and María Verza in Mexico City; and Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report.