Energy facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast scaled back operations and evacuated some production sites as Hurricane Helene is expected to bring catastrophic winds and storm surges to the northeastern Gulf Coast.

The hurricane’s predicted storm surge could be devastating in the coastal areas of Florida’s Big Bend, where the peninsula meets the Panhandle.

Energy facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast scaled back operations and evacuated some production sites as Hurricane Helene is expected to bring catastrophic winds and storm surges to the northeastern Gulf Coast.

Hurricane Helene is one of the biggest storm systems to hit the U.S. See how it compares to other past hurricanes and tropical storms in the Gulf Coast.

Tropical Storm Helene promised to become a hurricane on Wednesday as it rapidly intensified in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, threatening to bring life-threatening storm surge to Florida within the next two days.

Helene is expected to rapidly intensify into a major and massive hurricane with 115-mph winds by the time it makes landfall Thursday.

Fuel distributors in Florida were bracing for supply shortages as government officials issued dire warnings about strengthening hurricane Helene, which is forecast to make landfall in the state on Thursday evening.