BUFFALO, N.Y. — Ray Collins is native Western New Yorker and now full-time Floridian living in Sarasota.
The threat of damage from Hurricane Helene is raising concerns from friends and family in the Queen City.
"I actually have three brothers and plenty of friends in Buffalo and this is the time I hear from them," Collins said.
As the storm strengthens, he's comparing hurricane prep to shoveling snow.
"It kind of reminds me of when I lived in Buffalo, and we prepared for blizzards. A lot of the same things, people get batteries and generators and extra groceries, so a lot of similarities," Collins said.
Dante Controneo, an Orchard Park native and junior at The University of Tampa, said he agrees.
"Everyone has to prepare in case of the power going out, or in case of any situation like that, like how we deal with the blizzards," Controneo said.
Controneo lives in an area in Pinellas County, where residents are being told to evacuate.
"We're actually leaving in about an hour to drive to Miami for the weekend, because the City of Tampa has been doing a real good job at getting everyone out of the area," Controneo said.
Back in Buffalo, what will be directly impacted is travel.
Flights to and from Tampa and Atlanta at Buffalo Niagara International Airport are canceled as those regions prepare to stay safe during the storms.
Hurricane Helene is now a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, as of Thursday afternoon. It is accelerating and moving NNE at 20mph.