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.

Tropical Storm Helene is expected to strengthen into Hurricane Helene as it passes through the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday. Tropical Storm Helene is forecast to make landfall as a major storm on Florida’s Big Bend late Thursday. It will then move across Georgia and into metro Atlanta late Thursday night and into Friday morning.

Forecasters say they expect Tropical Storm Helene in the Caribbean Sea to strengthen rapidly and become a hurricane as it moves north across the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday toward the U.S.