Helene has weakened to a tropical storm and is moving north across the Southeast, bringing strong winds and heavy rain in what the National Hurricane Center called "life-threatening" conditions.

For several hours, the storm maintained hurricane strength as it pushed inland across northern Florida and into Georgia. By 5 a.m. ET, the National Hurricane Center said Helene was a tropical storm with sustained winds of 70 mph.

Helene will likely move in as a Category 1 storm in southern counties of the Channel 2 Action News viewing area and bring strong Tropical Storm conditions as it moves into metro Atlanta.