Tropical Storm Helene formed on Tuesday, with the National Hurricane Center predicting a “major hurricane” to strike the Gulf Coast of Florida by Thursday with “life-threatening storm surge and damaging hurricane-force winds.”

Also arriving on Tuesday were the latest estimates from CARFAX about how many water-damaged cars already are on the road.

After a series of tropical storms and hurricanes hit the U.S. from June through August, CARFAX estimated that extensive flooding from Texas to Vermont has left as many as 89,000 vehicles with water damage.

Analysts said that figure is on top of the estimated 454,000 water-damaged cars that CARFAX data shows were already on the road in 2023 — before any of these summer hurricanes and storms hit.

CARFAX research showed Texas and Florida lead the nation when it comes to the number of flood-damaged cars already on the road. And analysts said vehicles often pop up in states where flooding might not be top of mind for car shoppers, including places such as Kentucky, Illinois and Tennessee.

“We see these flooded cars show up all around the country, putting unsuspecting buyers at risk,” CARFAX general manager for data Faisal Hasan said.

“These cars may look showroom fresh, but they’re literally rotting from the inside out,” Hasan added, while noting floodwater can cause mechanical, electrical, health and safety issues in a vehicle even if it was submerged for only a short time.

CARFAX data showed these 10 states have the most water-damaged cars:

Texas: 64,000

Florida: 62,700

Kentucky: 30,200

Pennsylvania: 21,800

California: 20,200

New Jersey: 15,600

New York: 15,300

Illinois: 14,500

North Carolina: 14,300

Mississippi: 12,000