Hurricane Helene is snarling travel in Florida, while some stores and theme parks are closing

As Hurricane Helene moves over the eastern Gulf of Mexico early Thursday morning and nears landfall in Florida's Big Bend coast, travel across Florida is facing major disruptions, with several airports closing ahead of the storm and airlines canceling hundreds of flights. 

Some store locations are closing or modifying their hours ahead of Hurricane Helene, including grocery store chains such as Publix, as well as theme parks such as Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Walt Disney World, with the latter closing some parts of its park on Thursday.

Helene is strengthening over the Gulf's warm waters, picking up to maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour. That made it a Category 2 hurricane as of Thursday morning, according to the hurricane center. At least two airports, including Tampa International Airport, halted operations early Thursday morning ahead of Helene's approach, and advised travelers to monitor weather reports and check with their airlines about potential disruptions.