Helene was heading toward the island of Cozumel off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as of the National Hurricane Center's 10 p.m. CDT advisory, with sustained winds increasing to 60 mph. The storm is projected to dump heavy rain and trigger possible mudslides across western Cuba while passing between the island and the Yucatan on Tuesday night.

Hurricane Debby hit Florida’s Big Bend area, south of Tallahassee and west of Gainesville, in early August. The storm left Cedar Key, a cluster of small barrier islands, badly battered and flooded, with beach houses severely damaged and at least one R.V. park submerged.

Hurricane forecasters expect the disturbance to strengthen into a major hurricane on Thursday before reaching the northeastern Gulf Coast. The coast of the Florida Panhandle and the Florida west gulf coast could experience "life-threatening storm surge" and harsh hurricane-force winds, hurricane forecasters said.