Helene was never predicted to hit Tampa — it’s eye made landfall 180 miles north. But at more than 200-miles wide and winds whipping at nearly 140 mph near its core, it created surges that hit all along the Florida peninsula’s Gulf Coast. Most weren’t deadly, but on Pinellas’ barrier islands, the water wall came from all directions.

With the worst of Hurricane Helene yet to impact the Tampa Bay region early Thursday, area school districts announced they would remain closed on Friday. Officials said the extra time off will allow them to clear campuses that have been used as evacuation shelters,and to assess and fix storm damage.

TAMPA BAY, Fla. — As Hurricane Helene makes its way north in the Gulf of Mexico, thousands across the regions are expected to lose power at some point Thursday. Officials with Duke Energy and Tampa Electric said they have several crews ready to respond once the storm has moved out of the region.

A majority of businesses and local government offices are closed for the storm that is predicted to be a Category 3 hurricane.

Tropical Storm Milton has the potential to form into a dangerous hurricane that could strike the west coast of Florida during the workweek with damaging winds, life-threatening storm surge and torrential rain.

Storm surge impacts mainly coastal communities, but some inland communities could get inundated by the massive amounts of water.