Hurricane Helene is nearly as big as Texas. Here’s why it's size makes a big difference.

What once was a tropical disturbance in the western Caribbean just a few days ago has transformed into Helene, a powerful Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 120 mph as it barrels toward the Florida Gulf Coast. National Hurricane Center forecasters expect Helene to continue strengthening, making landfall as a high-end Category 3 or a Category 4 storm Thursday night. However, what may be just as important as Helene’s intensity is the...