Historic storm surges from Hurricane Helene inundated communities across the state’s Gulf Coast — and more than 2.5 million people across Florida lost power — as the massive Category 4 storm made landfall just after 11 p.

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.