Helene Weakens To Category 1 Hurricane While Moving North From Florida To Georgia

Hurricane Helene has weakened to a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph 120 kph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The storm has traveled north from Florida to Georgia and was about 100 miles 160 kilometers from Augusta and 40 miles 65 kilometers from Macon moving at about 30 mph 48 kph, the center said in a 4 a.m. update.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below.

CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. AP - Hurricane Helene made landfall in northwestern Florida as a Category 4 storm as forecasters warned that the enormous system could create a "nightmare" storm surge and bring dangerous winds and rain across much of the southeastern U.S. There were at least three storm-related deaths.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Helene roared ashore around 1110 p.m. Thursday near the mouth of the Aucilla River in the Big Bend area of Florida's Gulf Coast. It had maximum sustained winds estimated at 140 mph 225 kph. That location was only about 20 miles 32 kilometers northwest of where Hurricane Idalia came ashore last year at nearly the same ferocity and caused widespread damage.