When a major hurricane hits, it is often the storm surge — the sea or gulf water driven ashore by winds — that poses the greatest threat to people’s lives and livelihoods. The storm surge that will accompany Hurricane Helene is expected to peak on Thursday night.

Six coastal towns and cities on Florida’s Gulf Coast — which is especially vulnerable to storm-driven flooding — broke storm surge records during Hurricane Helene, according to data analyzed by The Post.

The system will keep weakening as it meanders over western Kentucky on Saturday, possibly near Tennessee border. By Sunday, it will track across the central Appalachians.