With maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph) , Helene continued to weaken while moving farther inland over Georgia. The storm was about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Macon and about 100 miles (165 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta, moving north at 30 mph (48 kph) at 5 a.m., the hurricane center in Miami reported.

Hurricane Helene, a massive, destructive Category 4 hurricane causing catastrophic storm surge, made landfall late Thursday night. More than 1.2 million homes and businesses are without power.

However, much of Florida, including the Tampa Bay region, continued to be under a storm surge warning early Friday morning. That means officials continued to project potentially life-threatening flooding. The worst of the storm is now headed for Georgia.

The storm made landfall in northwestern Florida as a Category 4 storm as forecasters warned the enormous system could create a “nightmare” storm surge and bring dangerous winds and rain across much of the southeastern U.

More than 350,000 homes and businesses in Florida were without power on Thursday as hurricane Helene looked poised to make landfall in the state's Big Bend region, according to data from PowerOutage.us.

Helene roared ashore in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, trapping residents in floodwaters, peeling side off buildings, knocking out power to millions.