This is the last planned update from the local National Weather Service out of Mobile.
Helene continues to accelerate northward across Georgia early this morning and is now a tropical storm. Residual coastal impacts will continue with:
1) Deadly rip currents along the Alabama beaches today and tonight and along the western Florida panhandle beaches through Saturday afternoon.
2) Dangerous high surf with breakers of 6-9 feet persisting along area beaches this morning, subsiding to 4-6 feet this afternoon.
3) Minor coastal flooding along the Alabama and western Florida panhandle coastal interface as we head into high tide early this morning. Dry weather conditions are otherwise expected for the next several days.
For your awareness:
A message to potential volunteers:
Do not self-deploy. Coordinate through VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster)
From Florida VOAD: "Seeing images of disaster may compel you to head to the impacted area. Don’t underestimate the complexity of working in a disaster area. Until a need has been identified and the local community impacted has requested support, volunteers should not enter. Be sure to contact us before coming to the disaster area. Wait until it is safe to travel to volunteer sites and opportunities have been identified.
“Once assigned a position, make sure you have been given an assignment and are wearing proper safety gear for the task. Be patient. Recovery lasts a lot longer than the media’s attention. There will be volunteer needs for many months, often years, after the disaster, especially when the community enters the long-term recovery period."
Join Baldwin County VOAD: https://baldwincountyal.gov/ema/voad
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