After a blustery Thursday of scattered rain squalls, tornado warnings, power outages and choppy waters from Hurricane Helene, the weather on the Treasure Coast will continue to improve Friday and into the weekend.
Friday’s rainfall is expected to be around 1 inch, with a chance of 2 inches along coastal areas, said Jessie Schaper, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne.
"We still have lingering moisture that's going to extend down along the periphery of the storm, so it's not directly related to Helene," Schaper said, "but it is going to keep higher rain chances for the Treasure Coast Friday and into this weekend."
"Our winds will die down significantly," she continued. "We'll return to about 10 to 15 mph winds, which is what we normally see on any given day."
Max winds reached 59 mph locally
The sun started shining again as the wind continued to subside Friday morning on the Treasure Coast after a rainy and windy Friday from Helene across Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties.
The National Weather Service in Melbourne released the sustained winds and maximum peak wind gusts recorded at airports across the area: the Vero Beach Regional Airport, Treasure Coast International Airport in Fort Pierce and Witham Field in Stuart.
- Vero Beach: 41 mph sustained; 59 mph maximum at 9:47 a.m. Thursday
- Fort Pierce: 35 mph sustained; 48 mph maximum at 9:34 a.m. Thursday
- Stuart: 25 mph sustained; 51 mph maximum at 5:22 p.m. Thursday (Jensen Beach)
A report on the total rainfall won’t be available until Friday afternoon, according to the NWS. It’s estimated the Treasure Coast received 1-2 inches of rain. Over the course of Wednesday and Thursday, Fort Pierce recorded 1.9 inches of rain, which is one of the higher totals in the area.
Local first responders sent to help
After the Treasure Coast avoided any direct impacts from Helene, local first responders were deployed Friday morning to the West Coast of Florida to help with the aftermath of what quickly grew to a Category 4 hurricane Thursday night when it made landfall near Perry in Taylor County.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office Rapid Response Team is on the way to Lafayette County, just east of Taylor County. The team originally was on their way to Citrus County, which is two counties south of Taylor County and home to cities that include Inverness, Crystal River, Homosassa and Hernando, but the team was rerouted.
Wind advisory, heat advisory
A wind advisory is in effect until 11 a.m. Friday, according to the NWS. Residents can expect breezy, windy conditions until the advisory expires.
A heat advisory remains in effect from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Heat index values will be 108 to 110. Residents should be careful when cleaning up storm debris outside.
A small craft advisory is in effect until 11 a.m. Wind from the south will be 20-30 knots while the seas will be 6-9 feet.
Downgraded to Tropical Storm Helene
Hurricane Helene made landfall Thursday night as a Category 4 storm, but it has been downgraded since then to Tropical Storm Helene. It was located over east-central Georgia about 6 a.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
All tropical storm warnings had been discontinued for the Treasure Coast and all of East Central Florida. The area also isn’t under a tornado watch or a flood watch anymore.
Warnings and watches on the Treasure Coast
Tropical storm-force wind gusts are possible across east central Florida, which includes the Treasure Coast.
- Tropical storm warning: Remained in effect across the Treasure Coast until 5:12 a.m. Friday
- Expired: Tornado watch from Daytona Beach to Hobe Sound expired at 8 p.m. Thursday
There's a high risk of rip currents Friday and throughout the weekend, with hazardous marine conditions.
Treasure Coast rainfall during Hurricane Helene
Rainfall across the Treasure Coast on Thursday was much lower than anticipated.
Widespread FPL, FPUA power outages
Power outages fluctuated Thursday. As of about 10 p.m., 950 customers were still without power.
Wind gusts almost 60 mph on Treasure Coast
At 6 p.m. Thursday, 40-50 mph wind gusts were reported in some areas of the Treasure Coast, with sustained winds averaging 20-30 mph across the area. The Treasure Coast took the top speeds for wind gusts across east Central Florida as of noon Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
- Vero Beach: 59 mph
- Fort Pierce: 48 mph (Treasure Coast International Airport)
- Jupiter: 45 mph (Martin County)
- Cape Canaveral: 43 mph (Space Force Station)
- Daytona Beach: 41 mph (Daytona Beach International Airport)
- Okahumpka: 41 mph (Lake County)
- Kissimmee: 39 mph
- Melbourne: 38 mph (Melbourne Orlando International Airport)
- Orlando: 37 mph (Orlando International Airport & Orlando Executive Airport)
Classes resume Friday on the Treasure Coast
Martin, Indian River and St. Lucie counties schools were to resume classes Friday, district officials announced. Indian River State College, which also canceled Thursday classes, was to reopen Friday, officials said in a news release.
Indian River County opens beaches, other facilities Friday
Here's county-run facilities that will be closed Thursday
Tree falls on mobile home
In Stuart, wind from Hurricane Helene's squalls knocked down a tree Thursday morning, and it fell on a mobile home on Southeast Cortez Street. The roof collapsed, but no one was injured seriously.
Six people live in the house, but only three were home at the time of the incident. One child in the house was trapped briefly in a bedroom because the tree was blocking the exit. One person's shoulder got scratched on the way out of the house, and another person was hit in the head with a branch.
What's open and closed through Friday on the Treasure Coast?
Here's what's open and closed on the Treasure Coast
What about Breeze Airways flying in and out of Vero Beach?
Breeze Airways adds Vero Beach to list of airports it's monitoring
Are any major airlines canceling flights around the country?
Airlines begin canceling flights, offering rebooking
Lake O water releases on hold
The Army Corps of Engineers was releasing no water from Lake Okeechobee or the C-44 Reservoir/STA into the St. Lucie River ahead of Hurricane Helene, a spokesperson told TCPalm Wednesday.
Rainfall runoff from previous storms that drenched western Martin County homes and farms has been flowing through the St. Lucie Lock & Dam at a daily average rate of nearly 331 million gallons, “which is normal for this time of year,” she said.
Web cams show Treasure Coast beaches conditions
(This story will be updated with more information, photos, video.)
TCPalm reporters Corey Arwood, Laurie K. Blandford, Keith Burbank, Olivia Franklin, Will Greenlee, Melissa E. Holsman, Jack Lemnus, Gianna Montesano, Wicker Perlis, Nick Slater, Colleen Wixon, and visual journalists Eric Hasert, Kaila Jones and Crystal Vander Weit contributed to this report.
