Helene is now a tropical storm as it sweeps across Georgia. Metro Atlanta is contending with dangerous flooding and the ongoing threat of powerful wind gusts. Right now: Nearly 34,000 Georgia Power customers in the Atlanta area were without power as of 6am Friday morning.

City and state officials are preparing for flash floods, heavy winds and downed trees as Hurricane Helene, a massive and potentially historic storm, plows through south Georgia and into Atlanta. Why it matters: National Weather Service forecasters say the storm will drop intense amounts of rain — possibly over a foot in some areas — and unleash powerful,