Jim Cantore Tracker: Where is he for Helene?

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – It's official – Jim Cantore is in Florida ahead of Helene, which is expected to become a major hurricane before making landfall somewhere along Florida's Gulf Coast.

The Weather Channel said the famous hurricane harbinger made landfall in Pasco County. Cantore and several other Weather Channel meteorologists were deployed to Florida's west coast to cover the tropical system.

Early Wednesday morning, the Tracking Jim Cantore Facebook group published a post indicating that Cantore was in Hudson. A segment on the Weather Channel's X Thursday morning showed Cantore reporting from Tallahassee.

“It's not every day you get to see Jim Cantore in little old Hudson, FL!” group member April Scott wrote.

Jim Cantore is reportedly currently in Leon County, Florida. A Weather Channel report showed he was reporting from Tallahassee.

Hurricane Helene strengthened to Category 2 as it approached the Florida coast Thursday morning. It is expected to quickly strengthen to a Category 3 storm before making landfall anywhere in the Big Bend region.

As the storm moves parallel across the Tampa Bay area on Thursday, a storm surge could occur later in the day. Winds are expected to shift from the southwest on Friday as the system moves out of the area. Flooding and flooding will continue to be a major concern until conditions return to normal on Saturday.

Some counties in the Tampa Bay area, including Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough and Pasco, issued mandatory evacuation orders ahead of the storm's landfall.