Hurricane Helene, a massive, destructive Category 4 hurricane causing catastrophic storm surge, made landfall about 11:10 p.m. Thursday in Florida’s Big Bend, the National Hurricane Center

Hurricane Helene made landfall Thursday night in northwestern Florida as a Category 4 storm as forecasters warned that the enormous system could create a “nightmare” storm surge and bring dangerous winds and rain across much of the southeastern U.

It’s already battering the state’s west coast with tropical storm-force winds and has caused hundreds of thousands of power outages.