Helene Waves Approach U.S.

Even though Hurricane Helene is far out in the Atlantic, she has strengthened to a Category 3 storm, packing winds of over 120 mph. She is looking very much like a classic hurricane on the satellite shots this morning and I wouldn't be surprised to see her reach Cat 4 status.

Here are the best close-up satellite shots from NASA, courtesy WeatherMatrix (these links are live, so you can watch them as the storm progresses):

Meanwhile, Helene's waves are propagating towards the United States. Rough surf and rip currents will plague the Southeast coast through Tuesday.

According to the WaveWatch Forecast Model [JessePedia], waves will not exceed 7 feet on the Outer Banks (unlike during Florence), but fluid dynamics will dictate the water will still be disturbed and dangerous all up and down the Southeast coast.