What Hurricane Helene may mean for the Eagles-Tampa Bay game, the National League wild-card race, and Philly’s weather

Helene, a major hurricane with peak winds of 125 mph, was forecast to make a potentially catastrophic landfall Thursday night on the Big Bend region of the Florida Gulf Coast.

At 5 p.m., the storm was about 130 miles west of Tampa, moving north-northeast and expected to pick up speed, the National Hurricane Center said.

The center said that its circulation is considerably larger than that of a typical hurricane and that hurricane-force winds — 74 mph or greater — are spinning up to 60 miles from the center. Tropical-storm-force winds, 39 mph or higher, could occur as much as 350 miles from the center.

The National Weather Service warned of wind gusts to 75 mph in the Tampa Bay area into Friday morning, where tropical storm and storm surge warnings were in effect.

While Helene and its remnants will remain several hundred miles away from the Philadelphia region until at least the weekend, some ripple effects are likely at Philadelphia International Airport and other airports in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that Tampa International, St. Pete-Clearwater International, and Tallahassee International Airports would be closing temporarily.

The Amtrak Silver Star and Silver Meteor routes to Miami will terminate in Jacksonville.

Delta Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue, Spirit Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Frontier Airlines, and United Airlines have issued waivers for travelers flying to Tampa, Orlando, Cancun, and other affected cities to rebook their tickets without a change fee or a fare difference.

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Neither the NFL nor the teams have addressed the possibility of postponing or moving the game, but it appears unlikely that would happen, unless the stadium were to become a disaster-relief site.

By kickoff time at 1 p.m. Sunday, the center of whatever is left of Helene will be hundreds of miles away, forecasters say.

The weather service predicts a 40% chance of showers during the game, and winds are forecast to be light, but the signature feature may well be the mugginess. Temperatures are forecast to rise to the mid-80s, with triple-digit heat indexes.

The Bucs’ home, Raymond James Stadium, is one of four NFL stadiums that the Federal Emergency Management Agency selected to be used as a shelter during a hurricane or other extreme-weather event. It’s unknown whether the stadium will need to be activated as a disaster relief site for Hurricane Helene.

That list includes the Louisiana Superdome, home of the New Orleans Saints, which was used as a shelter during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

As it turned out, Hurricane Helene has become a wild card in the National League wild-card race.

Helene is forecast to generate prodigiously heavy rains in Atlanta, where the Braves are supposed to be hosting the New York Mets in a critical series for two teams trying to make the postseason.

Wednesday’s and Thursday’s games were postponed and rescheduled for Monday, when the teams will play a doubleheader, the day after the season ends for the rest of baseball.

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Those two teams and the Arizona Diamondbacks are fighting for the last wild-card spots. As of Thursday, Arizona and New York were tied, and the Braves a game behind.

All this is very subject to change, but forecasters believe than any impacts from Helene around here would be minor, and that the weekend should end up being at least halfway decent.

“Some moisture from the edge of Helene is anticipated to move in Friday into Friday night,” the National Weather Service said in its afternoon discussion Thursday, but the flooding rains were expected to stay well to the south.

Don’t expect to see much of the sun for the next few days, and shower possibilities are in the forecast through Monday night. That said, the weekend “will not be a washout by any means,” the weather service says.

In any event, the rains won’t affect the Phillies’ chances of making the postseason. They’re in.