All this damage is being blamed on Hurricane Helene, even though some locations recorded more than a foot of rainfall well before Helene made landfall.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Hurricane Helene caused catastrophic damage from Florida to Kentucky, with some of the worst impacts occurring in East Tennessee and North Carolina.
Extreme flooding washed out roads, homes, and businesses all along the southern Appalachians. All this damage is being blamed on Hurricane Helene, even though some locations recorded more than a foot of rainfall well before Helene made landfall.
Here’s what happened—Middle Tennessee saw widespread severe thunderstorms on Tuesday, September 24. These storms were associated with a cold front that was sweeping across the country.
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That cold front moved into East Tennessee and stalled. It stalled over the southern Appalachians all day Wednesday and Thursday, dropping over a foot of rain.
The stalled front also led to Helene maintaining hurricane strength further inland. The stalled cold front caused Helene to speed up as it moved north. This meant the storm didn’t have as much time to weaken as it moved over land.
Friday, September 27 is when Hurricane Helene moved into the southern Appalachians bringing even more rain and strong winds. Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina saw a wind gust of over 100 mph.
Parts of the Appalachians in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia record over 20″ of rain.
One rain gauge in North Carolina recorded over 30″!
Hurricane Helene was an extremely powerful storm that caused extensive damage, but the impacts wouldn’t have been nearly as bad in the southern Appalachians without the precursor rain from the stalled cold front.
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