As panhandle residents prepare, FSU football watching track of Helene

Tropical Cyclone 9 has now intensified to Tropical Storm Helene, and preparations are under way in Tallahassee ahead of a projected landfall in the Florida panhandle on Thursday.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for 41 counties, which is the full Gulf Coast from Key West to Pensacola. Most of the hurricane trackers' "spaghetti models" have the storm hitting Tallahassee or to the east as of late Tuesday morning.

Florida State coach Mike Norvell said administrators are tracking the storm. The Seminoles practiced on Tuesday morning and plan to practice Wednesday morning, too.

What's uncertain is when the Seminoles would depart for Dallas for Saturday's game at SMU (8 p.m. on ACC Network). FSU could leave early on Thursday and practice in Dallas or try to keep its normal departure schedule, which is Friday afternoon.

"We're continuing to track that, obviously there's still a lot of information. Today is a big day for gaining more information of what could be our reality," Norvell said after practice. "I feel good about the plans that we have. I feel good about any potential adjustments if necessary. But it's something that we're absolutely tracking."

FSU’s campus will be closed beginning Wednesday morning. The Seminoles would still be allowed to hold football practice in the morning.

“Confidence remains high in the overall track, significant strengthening in the SE/East Gulf, and growing into a large system. Next advisory is at 5PM ET. Expect more changes then," National Weather Service Tallahassee posted on Twitter/X on Tuesday at 11 a.m.

TS Helene is expected to bring winds and flooding.

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