The flooding wascatastrophic because of a weakened Helene
A Hurricane That Hit the Mid Atlantic and Created More Storms in the Last Century: A Record-Breaking 48-Hour Rainstorm in North Carolina
When a storm gets powerful very quickly like that, scientists call it rapid intensification. Such rapid intensification is relatively normal for major hurricanes that form in the Atlantic, according to federal hurricane data. For example, every Category 5 hurricane that hit the United States in the last century was a tropical storm three days earlier, according to Ken Graham, the director of the National Weather Service.
Climate change may be increasing the number of rapid storm intensification as the planet warms. One reason is that storms are forming over warmer ocean water than in the past, because oceans absorb a majority of the extra heat that’s trapped on Earth by planet-warming pollution.
Along with floods, the persistent rains have created landslide conditions in North Carolina, according to a member station. The National Weather Prediction Center has forecast 6 to 12 inches for the region, well above the landslide condition threshold for the area.
The storm dumped more than 8 inches of rain in Wilmington and wrought serious damage to coastal homes and small buildings, as well as agricultural fields.
In North Carolina, the rain totals Friday afternoon were staggering: Busick got 29.58 inches of rain, and Mount Mitchell State Park received 24.20 in just over an hour.
Heavy rains from Helene set a record in Atlanta, which received its highest 48-hour rainfall on record over the past two days. The Georgia Climate Office said on Friday that the area has seen more rain than any other place in recorded history. In 1876 record keeping began.
It was the strongest winds seen on the coast in coastal North Carolina since the 19th century when meteorological recordkeeping began.
At least 44 people in five states have died as a result of the storm, the Associated Press reported. Emergency rescue crews are combing through the rubble to make sure there are no more deaths related to the storm.
The high winds and tornadoes were also blamed for several deaths. Gov. Ron DeSantis said one person died on a highway in Tampa from a falling sign. A person died when a tree fell on their home.
In Tennessee, patients and staff were stuck on the roof of Unicoi County Hospital as floodwater rose on Friday. By the afternoon, they were finally rescued.
The National Weather Service warned on Friday of the risk that the nearly century-old Lake Lure Dam could fail and asked those below it to flee to higher ground.
Brigadier General Daniel Hibner with the Army Corps of Engineers said dam failures are to be expected in flash flooding events like this one. “It’s not uncommon to see a dam failure in an event like this,” he said at a press briefing. I would be surprised if there weren’t many dam failures throughout this area.
As of Friday evening, the dam remained intact. In a 6 p.m. ET update on social media, Rutherford County officials said the lake’s water levels were beginning to recede.
Florida Power Outage During the 21st Night of 2020 Hurricane Laura: Flooding and Flooding During a High-Speed Category 4 Storm
There were 4 million homes and businesses without power in Florida on Friday, according to poweroutage.us. At nightfall, the number had dropped to about 3.8 million.
To avoid carbon Monoxide poisoning, the consumer safety officials advise people to keep generators more than 20 feet away from their home. Improper portable generator use led to more deaths associated with 2020’s Hurricane Laura than the storm itself.
The surge was more than 5 feet on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Andrew Swan was in Madeira Beach, Fla., watching a friend when the storm hit. He told WUSF the water rushed into the house up to his chest, and he spent the night sleeping on a kitchen counter with his legs over the stove.
While the worst of the storm is over for many in the Southeast, officials are warning residents to stay vigilant in its aftermath amid hazardous conditions, such as flooded and debris-strewn roads.
Preliminary post-landfall modeling showed the storm surge reached 15 feet above ground level in the Big Bend area near Keaton Beach, Steinhatchee and Horseshoe Beach, the National Weather Service said.
In an evening update from the National Hurricane Center, maximum sustained winds were moving at 25 mph. The storm made a direct hit on the Big Bend region in Florida, where it was a Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds.
The center said that the expected slow motion could result in significant flooding over the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys.
The National Hurricane Center said that the flooding and slides would continue into the evening.
Helene weakened to a post-tropical cyclone on Friday evening but continued to unleash “catastrophic” flooding in the southeastern U.S. and southern Appalachians, forecasters said.
North Carolina recorded a record 48-hour rainfall of 29.58 inches on Friday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). It said that Busick received 29.58 inches of rainfall and Mount Mitchell received 24.20 inches of rainfall in just over an hour. The Georgia Climate Office said that the area has seen more rain than any other place in recorded history.