So the President and I, of course, are monitoring the case and this situation closely, and

we urge everyone who is watching at this very moment to take this storm very seriously,

and please follow the guidance of your local officials.

The potential storm surge is well beyond the immediate path of the hurricane could be significant and deadly.

You know, for you and your family's sake, urge everyone in and near the path of the hurricane

to listen to local officials.

The tendency is to say, I can do this, but you can't.

20-foot storm surge, you can't.

Good morning and welcome to way too early on this Friday, September 27th.

I'm John Lamere, and we start this morning with breaking news out of Florida, where Hurricane

Helene, just a moment ago, downgraded to Tropical Storm Helene, made landfall as a category

four, making it at the time the strongest hurricane to ever

hit Florida's Big Ben region. At this hour, the storm has indeed weakened, now considered a

tropical storm, but forecasters warn it could still bring life-threatening winds and an unsurvivable

storm surge, with waters reaching as high as 20 feet in some places.

So far, the devastating impact has led to at least three deaths, one in Florida, two in Georgia.

At least one million Florida customers remain in the dark after strong winds knocked down power lines there.

Joining us live from Tallahassee, Florida, now is NBC's Jay Gray.

And Jay, good to see you.

Give us an update as the conditions there.

What sort of damage we think we can see?

I know the sun's not up yet and what the next few hours

...