Hurricane Helene was a powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that caused widespread catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities across the Southeastern United States in late September 2024. It was the strongest hurricane on record to strike the Big Bend region of Florida, the deadliest Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Maria in 2017, and the deadliest to strike the mainland U.S. since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The eighth named storm, fifth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, Helene began forming on September 22, 2024 as a broad low-pressure system in the western Caribbean Sea.