When will Hurricane Helene hit Indiana? Wind gusts of 40-45 mph possible. See the forecast

Hurricane Helene strengthened to a Category 2 storm Thursday and could bring heavy rain and gusty winds to Indiana. The storm is expected to grow even more powerful as it roars into the Florida panhandle sometime late Thursday evening or Friday morning.

Here's everything we know so far about its potential impact to Hoosiers.

Hurricane Helene remnants bringing rain and gusty winds to Central Indiana

Central Indiana can expect rain and gusty winds Friday as remnants of Hurricane Helene soak the Midwest, according to a social media post by the National Weather Service in Indianapolis. By then forecasters say the storm will become a tropical depression, creating showers that will linger through the weekend.

The "heaviest rainfall will likely be south of I-70 Friday," NWS said on social media Thursday morning. "Winds will gust to 40-45 mph with locally higher gusts."

In a special weather statement, NWS warned the gusty conditions posed a concern for "high profile vehicles" such as trucks and tractor trailers, traveling on southwest to northwest oriented roadways.

What time will remnants of Hurricane Helene hit Indiana? How windy could it get and when?

Thursday through Friday will see a slow, steady ramp-up of wind speeds across Central Indiana, according to local meteorologists, who said Friday afternoon is when things will get downright blustery.

"Right now, things are fairly calm," said Earl Breon, an NWS meteorologist in Indianapolis. "By 5 p.m. Thursday, we'll probably be looking at wind speeds of 10 mph and we might see some gusts in the 20 mph range — nothing too impressive."

Breon said wind speeds will gradually increase overnight Thursday into Friday afternoon with sustained winds of 20-25 mph and gusts that could reach 30-45 mph.

"Around 2 p.m. Friday is when we could start feeling those winds," Breon said. "This is kind of typical when we have tropical remnants moving through our area — high winds and the potential for heavy rain. We have chances for half an inch to maybe an inch total."

Live weather radar for Central Indiana

Central Indiana Weather forecast, per NWS

On Thursday morning, local meteorologists with NWS said Hoosiers living in Central Indiana can expect the following weather conditions.

🌤️ Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 76. East northeast wind 6 to 9 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.

☁️ Thursday night: Scattered showers, mainly after 3 a.m. Cloudy, with a low around 64. Northeast wind around 11 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

🌧️ Friday: Showers, mainly after 2 p.m. High near 74. Breezy, with a northeast wind 15 to 24 mph, with gusts as high as 41 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

🌧️ Friday night: Showers, mainly before 2 a.m. Low around 64. Breezy, with an east wind 20 to 25 mph decreasing to 11 to 16 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

🌤️ Saturday: Showers likely, mainly after 2 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 75. East wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

☁️ Saturday night: Showers likely, mainly before 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. Northeast wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

☁️ Sunday: Showers likely, mainly after 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 75. East northeast wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

☁️ Sunday night: Showers likely, mainly before 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. East northeast wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

🌤️ Monday: A 40 percent chance of showers after 8 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 77. East northeast wind 3 to 6 mph.

☁️ Monday night: A 20 percent chance of showers before 2 a.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 62. East northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

☀️ Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 76.

🌙 Tuesday night: A 10 percent chance of showers. Mostly clear, with a low around 52.

☀️ Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 71.

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John Tufts covers trending news for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at JTuftsReports.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: When will Hurricane Helene hit Indiana? Everything we know so far