Florida’s Gulf Coast prepares for Hurricane Helene | PHOTOS

Hurricane Helene is forecast to track along Florida’s Gulf coast late Wednesday and into Thursday as a large storm, with widespread impacts. The shoreline and waterways are vulnerable to storm surge.

Here are the latest updates as well as a playlist of live webcams still operating as of Wednesday afternoon at various coastal spots.

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)
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)
Owners secure their boats outside the Davis Islands Yacht Club Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, ahead of Hurricane Helene in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Paulette McLin loads items into their truck as they prepare 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)
Jerry McCullen, top of ladder left, and Carson Baze, top of ladder right, put plywood over the windows of a house ahead of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall Thursday evening, in Alligator Point, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Bo Manausa pulls his boot 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)
People bag sand in preparation for possible flooding on Sept. 25, 2024 in Tallahassee, Florida. Forecasts predict Tropical Storm Helene will strengthen to a hurricane, making landfall along the Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Sandbags are filled at a public site while residents prepare their homes for potential flooding, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Tarpon Springs, Fla., as Tropical Storm Helene approaches. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times 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)