CAPE CORAL, Fla — Follow this page for around-the-clock information about how Hurricane Helene is impacting Southwest Florida.
Click here for the newest information about the storm.
Click here for information about what is closed in your community.
Update: Thursday 4:06pm
The School District of Lee County has made the decision to reopen all schools and District offices on Friday, September 27, 2024.
Dear SDLC Families,
The District has been working directly with the Lee County Emergency Operations Center as we monitor the effects of Hurricane Helene to our area. School officials have already begun preliminary assessments of District buildings and will continue to do so throughout the day.
Initial assessments thus far show no significant damage to our sites. The National Hurricane Center projects the majority of the storm to be past our area by this evening. Therefore, the District has made the decision to reopen all schools and District offices on Friday, September 27, 2024.
As we continue to assess individual campuses, we will work with those respective school administrations to resolve any concerning issues and communicate with impacted families and staff accordingly.
Thank you.
The School District of Lee County
Update: Thursday 3:36pm
Update: Thursday 2:05 p.m.
Several streets are flooded right now in St. James City.
Fox 4's Ella Rhoades was there a short time ago:
Update: Thursday 1:45 p.m.
As we reported earlier, crews have closed the US 41 Bridge in Punta Gorda.
Fox 4's Charlotte County Community Correspondent Alex Orenczuk reports from the scene:
Update: Thursday 1:35 p.m.
Water is flowing over the Matlacha Bridge.
Watch Fox 4 Community Correspondent Ella Rhoades' report here:
And here's a live look of the bridge:
Update: Thursday 1:20 p.m.
Fox 4 Community Correspondent Bella Line reports on flooded roads in Punta Gorda. Watch here:
Update: 12:55 p.m.
Northbound 41 Bridge in Punta Gorda closed
Additional closures include:
Taylor St between W. Retta Esplanade and W. Marion Ave
-Wood St between E. Marion Ave and E Olympia Ave
-MLK between E. Marion and E. Olympia
-Chasteen St. between W. Olympia and W. Retta Esplanade
-Berry St. between W. Retta Esplanade and W. Marion Ave
-Dolly St. between W. Marion Ave and W. Retta Esplanade
-Gill St. between W. Retta Esplanade and W. Marion Ave
-Sullivan St. between W. Retta Esplanade and W. Marion Ave
-Nesbit St. between E. Olympia and E. Marion
-Nesbit St. between E. Marion Ave and Tamiami Trail
-Rio Villa Dr at Vasco St
-Rio Villa Dr at Almar Dr
-Brown St. Between E. Marion Ave and E. Olympia Ave
-Dupont St. and E. Marion Ave
-W. Marion Ave between Dolly St and Maud St
-E. Marion Ave and Cooper St
-W. Marion Ave between Tamiami Trail and Shreve St
- McGregor St and W. Olympia Ave
Update 11:21 a.m.
Sanibel update from the city manager's office
"Strong gusts of wind and heavy rain bands are moving over our area and the weather conditions will continue to deteriorate throughout the day. Portions of roadways throughout the island have experienced flooding, with substantial flooding in the Blind Pass area, Bailey Road, and Dixie Beach Blvd. Please use caution and avoid driving over flooded roads"
Power outages have been reported.
UPDATE: 11:12 a.m.
School tomorrow in Lee County?
We're receiving anumber of questions regarding school tomorrow in Lee County.
FOX 4's Amy Wegmann just reached out to the Lee County School District - asking for an answer.
UPDATE: Thursday 10:20 a.m.
Fort Myers Police announced several roads are closed, including the northbound lanes of the Edison Bridge.
UPDATE: Thursday 10:10 a.m.
Collier County Sheriff's Office announced several road closures because of flooding.
UPDATE: Thursday 10:02 a.m.
FOX 4's Austin Schargorodskiis tracking flooding in Downtown Fort Myers.
UPDATE: Thursday 9:47 a.m.
Lee County Update
Lee County leaders are expected to give an update at noon.
You can watch here.
UPDATE: Thursday 9:15 a.m.
"Pretty good likelihood that we'll have to close the bridge for safety."
FOX 4's Kaitlin Knapp just spoke with Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers about a possible closure of the Matanzas Pass Bridge.
You can see Kaitlin's full report here:
UPDATE Thursday, 8:42 a.m.
Suspected Tornado in North Fort Myers
Lee County Public Safety's Ben Abes tells FOX 4 a short-track, suspected tornado touched down at the corner of Palm Creek Drive and Bayshore Boulevard.
Abes says the tornado moved northwest for about a quarter mile.
Additionally, Abes says there have been reports of a touchdown at Orange River Boulevard and River Grove Lane with reports of roof and cosmetic damage.
Lee County Public Safety says this could be the same suspected tornado that could have possibly touched down in North Fort Myers.
The call was reported around 8:10 a.m.
Residents say they saw a tornado on the ground, and there is roof damage to multiple buildings.
No injuries have been reported.
UPDATE: Thursday 8:10 a.m.
Senior Reporter Kaitlin Knapp reports that conditions are worsening on Fort Myers Beach.
Watch her live report:
UPDATE: Thursday 8:00 a.m.
Fort Myers Community Correspondent Miyoshi Price got a text from a source in her community who told her there was flooding near the Edison Bridge. Watch her live report:
UPDATE: Thursday 7:38 a.m.
We're tracking power outages across Southwest Florida.
LCEC customers can check here.
FPL customers can check here.
UPDATE: Thursday 6:30 a.m.
Senior ReporterKaitlin Knapp was live in Storm Fox 4.0 to report water over some roads in Fort Myers Beach.
UPDATE: Thursday 6:05 a.m.
Senior Reporter Ryan Kruger reports that the wind is picking up in Cape Coral.
UPDATE: Thursday 5:20 a.m.
Senior ReporterKaitlin Knapp took Storm Fox 4.0 around Fort Myers Beach to report on conditions there early Thursday morning.
Watch her live report here:
UPDATE: Wednesday 11:30 p.m.
Watch the latest forecast in the video player below.
UPDATE: Wednesday 10 p.m.
Neighbors in Fort Myers beach spent Wednesday preparing their homes and communities for Helene, just a few days before the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Ian.
UPDATE: Wednesday 9:30 p.m.
Lee County's Emergency Operation Center has entered Level Two of its emergency activation levels. Level Two is a "partial activation." Activating this level allows the EOC to bring in additional staff, or extend staffing hours. Read more about the Activation Levels on Lee County's website.
UPDATE: Wednesday 8:30 p.m.
In a rare move further indicating the gravity of Hurricane Helene, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a news release on Wednesday night urging communities in the hurricane's path to prepare for "catastrophic, life-threatening inland flooding."
In the release, NOAA calls Helene an "unusually large storm." Areas well inland of landfall— up to hundreds of miles— will experience flooding. NOAA pointed to these areas of major flood risk:
- Tallahassee
- Metro Atlanta
- Western North Carolina
Flash floods and landslides are possible in the southern Appalachians.
NOAA is urging communities to follow all evacuation and safety orders issued by local government agencies.
Sarasota County government offices will be closed Thursday.
UPDATE: Wednesday 7:45 p.m.
Safe Havens are open as of this afternoon in Lee County. LeeTran will continue to provide service to the Safe Havens, at North Fort Myers Recreation Center and Estero Recreation Center, until 10 p.m. All other fixed-route bus operations are now suspended and will resume Friday.
UPDATE: Wednesday 7:00 p.m.
Eight airlines have cancelled flights out of Southwest Florida International Airport on Thursday. Major airlines including American, Delta and United have cancelled early morning flights so far.
As of 9/25/24, 4:30 p.m.: Air Canada, Breeze, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, Sun Country and WestJet have cancelled flights tomorrow, Sept. 26. Some early morning flights have been cancelled on American, Delta and United. Please contact your airline for flight information. pic.twitter.com/QGSAmuGdoG
— SWFL Int'l Airport (@RSWAirport) September 25, 2024
Florida Governor Ron Desantis is urging those outside of the "cone" to continue to be cautious of hazards like flooding.
Florida is preparing for widespread impacts from Hurricane Helene. Sixty-one of Florida’s 67 counties are currently under a state of emergency.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 25, 2024
Do not get wedded to the “cone,” as hazards such as tornados, flooding, and storm surge can create dangerous conditions far beyond… pic.twitter.com/q568YSg2Nu
UPDATE: Wednesday 5:00 p.m.
Helene is now expected to strengthen to a Category 4 hurricane before it makes landfall. See the latest weather update below.
UPDATE: Wednesday 4:15 pm
Fox 4 Senior Reporter, Ryan Kruger, looked into what FPL and LCEC are doing to keep the power on during Hurricane Helene
UPDATE: Wednesday 3:40 pm
City of Cape Coral update on Hurricane Helene
Watch the entire news conference here:
UPDATE: Wednesday 3:25 pm
Fox 4 Community Correspondent, Mahmoud Bennett went to Fort Myers Beach to see a couple he first met during Hurricane Debby when their house flooded, to see how they're preparing for Helene.
UPDATE: Wednesday 3:20 pm
Collier County Safe Havens will open at 6 am on Thursday.
UPDATE: Wednesday 3:14 pm
Lee County launched a new website to keep people updated on resources and the response to Hurricane Helene
UPDATE: Wednesday 3:05 pm
South Trail Fire Department just got sand for sandbags.
UPDATE: Wednesday 2:45 pm
Fox 4 Community Correspondent, Austin Schargorodski spent the day talking to people in Cape Coral who waited in lines for gas, to "prepare for the worst."
