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.

Hurricane Helene is gone, but it left a mark on the Tampa Bay area that will not be forgotten. The barrier islands of Pinellas County took one of the hardest hits, where nine people were killed.

Tampa Bay – the nation's most vulnerable metro area to storm surge – could be about to see its worst flooding in over a century.

Milton increased to a Category 3 hurricane early Monday as Florida gears up for what could be its biggest evacuation in seven years.