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.

In Clearwater, one of the hardest-hit regions, water levels surged to a record 8.6 feet, eclipsing the previous high of 6.8 feet. Similarly, in East Bay, levels peaked at 7.3 feet, surpassing the old record of 6.7 feet.

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.