City and state officials are preparing for flash floods, heavy winds and downed trees as Hurricane Helene, a massive and potentially historic storm, plows through south Georgia and into Atlanta. Why it matters: National Weather Service forecasters say the storm will drop intense amounts of rain — possibly over a foot in some areas — and unleash powerful,

Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida’s Gulf Coast, making landfall late Thursday as a powerful Category 4 storm, bringing with 140 mph winds, torrential rain and a record storm surge before moving inland across Georgia and the Carolinas.