News

Helene could dump 15 inches of rain; NWS issues flood watch

By Bill Moss, Published: September 25, 2024

Hurricane Helene could dump up to 15 inches of rain in the Henderson County area through Friday, the National Weather Service said, causing widespread flooding and dangerous conditions around streams, creeks and rivers.

The weather service issued a flood watch from Wednesday morning through Friday afternoon and warned that major flash flooding is possible.

Helene is expected to make landfall over the Florida Panhandle Thursday evening and race north into Georgia and the western
Carolinas, the NWS said. "Significant flash flooding and mainstem flooding is likely Thursday into early Friday, especially along the Blue Ridge Escarpment," the weather service said. "The combination of saturated soils and strong wind gusts will result in numerous trees down, leading to numerous power outages."

"The main concern is going to be flooding," NWS meteorolgist Thomas Winesett said. "We’re going to have heavy rain tomorrow morning and tomorrow afternoon." Waves of rain Thursday afternoon and early Friday morning could bring up to 15 inches of rain, with the highest totals expected in southern Henderson County.

"We're concerned about the potential for significant flooding," Winesett said. "This could be at the higher end of flash flooding."

Potential wind gusts of 40-50 mph raise the risk of power outages as the big blow batters vulnerable trees.

"Saturated soil could become a problem," Winesett said. "We can't rule out, depending on the track of the storm, a low end threat of a tornado. The mountains also with the terrain could see landslides."

Here's the NWS forecast for the next five days:

Wednesday: Showers likely, mainly after 4pm. The rain could be heavy at times. Patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 72. South southeast wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.

Wednesday night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 9pm, then showers between 9pm and 3am, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 3am. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Patchy fog. Low around 63. Southeast wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.