Aaron Jones has already envisioned a Lambeau Leap in his return to Green Bay with the Vikings

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Mixed in the swell of Aaron Jones ' emotions evoked by his impending return to Green Bay, naturally, is a vision of a touchdown celebration in the front-row seats at Lambeau Field he became so familiar with over seven seasons with the Packers.

The jarring difference this time, of course, is he would be doing the Lambeau Leap while wearing the sacrilegious color — in Green Bay, at least — purple. The Vikings (3-0) play the Packers (2-1) on Sunday in a pivotal early season divisional matchup.

“If you’re not thinking about the end zone, you’re thinking about the wrong thing,” Jones said. “I’m definitely leaping. I’m definitely leaping up there.”

Having signed with the Vikings the day after he was unsentimentally released by the Packers, Jones has embraced his new environment in ways he never envisioned were possible. He has picked right up where he left off on the field, too, with 325 yards and two touchdowns from scrimmage in three games for Minnesota after topping the 100-yard rushing mark in each of his final five games for Green Bay.

“I’ve been a part of some good teams, but this is a special team. I’ve had this conversation with my mom: I said, ’Mom, I don’t know what it is, I can’t put my finger on it, but I’m just happy to be around this group of great men,'" Jones said.

Drafted in the fifth round out of Texas-El Paso in 2017, Jones worked his way into the lead ball carrier role with the Packers and produced three 1,000-yard seasons. He was a Pro Bowl pick in 2020, when Green Bay lost at home to Tampa Bay in the NFC championship game, and became a beloved presence in the locker room and around the state.

The Packers stung and surprised him, naturally, by releasing him after he balked at a steep pay cut for the second straight offseason. But couldn't hide his ever-present smile in his regularly scheduled interview session with reporters at Vikings headquarters on Wednesday. If there's a score to settle or lingering bitterness, well, he's hiding it well.

“I have a lot of respect for the people there and the relationships that I’ve made there,” Jones said. “It’s nothing but love. I understand it’s a business and at some point you’ve got to make business decisions. It may be a hard decision, but you’ve got to make decisions and live with it.”

Jones had an essay published on The Players' Tribune this week, expressing deep gratitude to Green Bay for his experience there. He revealed how his father died of COVID-19 complications less than two weeks after he signed his second contract in 2021 and how much he appreciated the team's support.

He said he was inspired to write his tribute because he didn't get a proper goodbye, having expected to return this year.

“I’m here now. This is where my heart is. I love being here and love everything about this organization,” Jones said. "But I just wanted to tell them thank you for my time there, accepting me, allowing me to become the player that I am.”

Behind Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre, Jones is the next-most prolific player to switch sides in this border-state rivalry that's in its seventh decade.

“He’s just a tremendous teammate. He cares about everybody, wants everybody to be successful," said Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark. "His effort on the field is tremendous. Somebody can catch the ball 40 yards downfield, and he’s going to be down there blocking for him.”

Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson will face cornerback Jaire Alexander for the first time since Jan. 1, 2023, when Alexander helped limit Jefferson to one reception for 15 yards in a 41-17 victory by the Packers in Green Bay after Minnesota had clinched the NFC North title. Each player missed one of the matchups because of injuries last season.

“I don't really care about the matchup, honestly. I feel like he cares more about it than I do," Jefferson said. "But it is what it is. That's every team. No knick-knack against Jaire. That's every team, and how they scheme up against me, how they try to play me.”

Alexander mocked Jefferson's signature to dance, “The Griddy,” in that last game at Lambeau Field.

“He reminds me of my big brother that always just tries to knick-knack at every little thing and just tries to play the head game, just tries to hit you a little extra, or tries to push you a little extra than normal people do,” Jefferson said on Thursday. “I understand that it's a tactic to get inside my head and to mess up my game plan with what I'm doing, but it doesn't really work.”

AP Sports Writer Steve Megargee in Green Bay, Wisconsin, contributed.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones (33) carries the ball up field during the first half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones (33) runs up field during the second half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones celebrates after catching an 8-yard touchdown pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones (33) celebrates with teammate wide receivers Justin Jefferson (18), center, and Trent Sherfield Sr. (11) after a 39-yard run during the second half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones (33) celebrates after a 39-yard run during the second half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — In 2005, Hurricane Dennis landed near the Alabama-Florida state line as a Category 3 hurricane. Far to the east, Florida's Big Bend — where Hurricane Helene is expected to come ashore — never even felt tropical storm strength winds, but it was still hit with a mass of water that devasted coastal communities.

That's storm surge. It's more deadly and destructive than wind and can make a significant impact far from the center of a storm.

The most common way to measure a hurricane's strength is the Saffir-Simpson Scale that assigns a category from 1 to 5 based on a storm's sustained wind speed at its center, with 5 being the strongest. But that only tells part of the story.

While wind can tear off roofs, knock down trees and snap power lines, storm surge can push buildings completely off their foundations, can trap and even drown people in their homes, wash out roads and bridges, toss boats inland and hammer anything in its path.

“The leading cause of death from hurricanes is water, not wind,” said Craig Fugate, the former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency who previously ran Florida's emergency management.

And in the case of Hurricane Helene, predicted storm surge could be devastating in the coastal areas of the state's Big Bend, where the peninsula meets the Panhandle. Forecasters say surge could be between 15 and 20 feet (4.5 to 6 meters).

Storm surge is the level at which sea water rises above its normal level.

Much like the way a storm's sustained winds do not include the potential for even stronger gusts, storm surge doesn't include the wave height above the mean water level.

Surge is also the amount above what the normal tide is at a time, so a 15-foot storm surge at high tide can be far more devastating than the same surge at low tide.

Hurricane Katrina is largely remembered for causing flooding in New Orleans. That wasn't from storm surge, but rather the failure of levees protecting the city.

But further east, Mississippi was devastated by up to 28 feet (8.5 meters) of surge. Afterward, parts of the Mississippi coast looked as if someone took heavy equipment and cleared out everything within 300 yards (274 meters) of the shore, Fugate said.

“It took the gambling casino boats and put them on the other side of the road. The Waffle Houses were nothing but slabs,” Fugate said. "That kind of devastation is what they're going to see in the Big Bend.'

Florida's Big Bend is sparsely populated compared to other parts of Florida's coast.

“Fortunately, the populations are much smaller, but it doesn't mean the devastation to those areas won't be extreme. I'm thinking about little towns like Panacea. I'm not sure what's going to be left after this,” Fugate said.

The Gulf Coast overall is much shallower than the Atlantic Coast, and even more so in the Big Bend. If you place a fan in front of a shallow baking tray filled with water, it's going to scatter it much more easily on the kitchen counter than if you put a deep mixing bowl full of water in front of the same fan.

And because of the geography of the Big Bend, the water can't spread out along the coast as it would in other areas.

“That is very shallow water. Because of the bend, there's nowhere for the water really to go. It just piles up and moves inland,” Fugate said. “If people haven't gotten out, it's going to be bad.”

He noted many of the coastal communities in the area have one road in and out, and once those roads are flooded, people who don't evacuate will be stuck until the storm passes and flooding recedes.

“Most of the roads down there are going to be underwater, even if (first responders) could, they're not going to get down there,” Fugate said. “During the storm, there won't be anybody able to get out there and rescue people.”

FILE - Cars and debris from washed away homes line a canal in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Oct. 5, 2022, one week after the passage of Hurricane Ian. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)