The place to watch in Florida is the Western Caribbean, where an area of low pressure could form next week and enter the Gulf of Mexico.

Death toll continues to rise in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas as Hurricane Helene tears into the US south-east

Hurricane Helene plowed into Florida with catastrophic storm surge and damaging winds, then dumped prolific rainfall inland over the Southeast, triggering extreme flash flooding and record river flooding in the Carolinas and Tennessee.

Tropical Storm Helene formed in the northwestern Caribbean Sea on Tuesday, but National Hurricane Center forecasters expected the storm to quickly turn into a hurricane by Wednesday as it enters the unusually warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

About 24% of crude oil production and 18% of natural gas output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was shut in response to Hurricane Helene, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said on Friday.

Helene strengthened to hurricane status in the western Caribbean Sea Wednesday morning as it moved closer to the Gulf of Mexico, where it is expected to intensify before making landfall in Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.