Top line
Hurricane Helene made landfall Thursday evening in Big Bend, Florida, as a Category 4 storm, knocking out power to more than two million homes and businesses and causing at least six deaths in Florida and Georgia before heading to North Carolina and the Tennessee Valley on Friday.
A boat runs aground as storm surge from Hurricane Helene impacts Gulfport, Florida, September 26, 2024.
Key facts
The center of Helene, which has been downgraded to a tropical storm since making landfall, was located about 30 miles northeast of Athens, Georgia, at 7 a.m. EDT Friday, the National said Hurricane Center, with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph.
Helen is expected to bring “devastating wind gusts and life-threatening flooding” to the Southeast and southern Appalachian mountains, with total rain accumulations of up to 20 inches in isolated areas.
Tornadoes are possible Friday in parts of eastern Georgia, the Carolinas and southern Virginia, and tropical storm conditions are expected to persist along the Georgia and South Carolina coasts.
Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in Asheville and McDowell counties in North Carolina as rivers and reservoirs are expected to swell from heavy rains, and several schools in Kentucky and Indiana will be closed Friday as Winds and heavy rains hit the region.
A storm surge warning remains in effect for parts of Florida, including Tampa Bay, and from Indian Pass to Apalachicola in the Panhandle.
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Key context
Hurricane Helene first made landfall around 11:10 p.m. EDT near the town of Perry in Florida’s Big Bend region. The storm has so far passed through Florida and Georgia, killing at least six people, ABC News reported. At least one person has died in Florida, one in North Carolina and four in Georgia. Millions of people are without electricity. A flash flood emergency has been triggered in Atlanta, where video on social media shows dramatic rescues.
What is a storm surge?
Storm surge is an “abnormal rise of water generated by a storm” that exceeds the normal tide, according to the National Weather Service. Surges are caused by strong onshore winds from a tropical storm or hurricane, and storm surges from tropical cyclones are the leading cause of hurricane deaths, the National Hurricane Center said.
Does Hélène have an impact on airlines?
Tampa International Airport closed to the public at 2 a.m. Thursday in anticipation of Hurricane Helene and “plans to resume service when it is safe to do so on Friday.”
Tangent
Helene is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and comes a few weeks after Francine made landfall as a Category 2 in Louisiana on September 11. Forecasters have predicted this year’s busiest storm season (June 1 to November 30) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has already predicted up to 25 named storms and 13 hurricanes, but the season has not been as active as expected so far.
Further reading
