Current:Home > NewsHurricane Helene's forecast looks disastrous far beyond Florida -Prime Capital Blueprint
Hurricane Helene's forecast looks disastrous far beyond Florida
View
Date:2025-04-23 08:37:25
As Florida's Gulf Coast prepares for catastrophic Hurricane Helene to make landfall Thursday evening, forecasters warned that major rain and winds will cause flooding even hundreds of miles inland.
Helene's winds extend up to 275 miles from its center, making it a massive storm that can cause inland flooding even well after it makes landfall, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. Because of its size, heavy rain even before landfall will begin in the southeastern part of the country.
Helene could be a "once-in-a-generation" storm in parts of Georgia and the Carolinas, AccuWeather Senior Director of Forecasting Operations Dan DePodwin said.
By Friday, rain totals of up to 18 inches are expected up through the southern Appalachian region. Major urban flooding is a risk in Tallahassee, metro Atlanta and western North Carolina.
"Extreme rainfall rates (i.e., torrential downpour) across the mountainous terrain of the southern Appalachians will likely inundate communities in its path with flash floods, landslides, and cause extensive river and stream flooding," NOAA said in a news release warning of the inland flooding risk.
Flooding is the biggest cause of hurricane- and tropical cyclone-related deaths in the U.S. in the last decade.
Damaging winds, flooding will extend beyond Florida coast
While the heaviest inland flooding risk is expected in the Appalachians, a marginal risk of flooding extends all the way north to the southern parts of Indiana, Ohio and across to the Washington, D.C. metro area, according to the National Weather Service.
"Helene could cause a flooding disaster in some areas of the southeastern United States, especially in northern Georgia, upstate South Carolina and western North Carolina," AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said.
The flooding will come from a combination of rain before Helene makes landfall and the heavy rains expected as the storm moves over land. The region of northern Georgia to upstate South Carolina, western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, southwestern Virginia and southern West Virginia already saw flash flooding from between 2 and 8 inches of rainfall not related to Helene from Tuesday to Wednesday night, AccuWeather reported.
In the southern Appalachians, Porter said, people who have lived there for their whole lives may see rapid water flowing and flooding in areas they have never seen it before.
Meanwhile, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency in preparation for Helene's effects, noting that the western parts of the state could see significant rainfall and flooding on Friday and Saturday.
One silver lining: Heavy rainfall extending to parts of Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky could help ease an ongoing drought.
Why so much rainfall inland?
Aside from the sheer size of Helene, there's another factor at play that could intensify the inland rainfall of this storm. It's called the Fujiwhara effect, the rotation of two storms around each other.
Hurricane Helene could entangle with another storm over the south-central U.S., which is a trough of low pressure. That could mean a deluge of flooding rain in states far from the storm's center. The heavy, potentially flooding rain could impact the Mid-South and Ohio Valley over the next several days, forecasters said.
The effect is like a dance between two storm systems spinning in the same direction, moving around a center point between them, which can happen when they get about 900 miles apart. Read more about meteorology's most exquisite dance.
How to stay safe from extreme flooding
Officials say even people hundreds of miles from landfall should make a plan to stay safe:
- Evacuate if local emergency management authorities tell you to.
- Be aware of whether you live in a flood-prone area.
- Have a plan to protect your family and your belongings.
- Prepare an emergency kit with water, nonperishable food, medications and more. Here's what to pack.
- Stay off flooded roadways. Do not attempt to drive through water.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
Contributing: Doyle Rice, USA TODAY
veryGood! (99)
Related
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- NFL Week 11 picks: Eagles or Chiefs in Super Bowl 57 rematch?
- A Georgia trucker survived a wreck, but was killed crossing street to check on the other driver
- Details Revealed on Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker's Baby Boy Rocky Thirteen
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Gang attack on Haitian hospital leads to a call for help and an unlikely triumph for police
- Ex-girlfriend drops lawsuits against Tiger Woods, says she never claimed sexual harassment
- TGL dome slated for new Tiger Woods golf league loses power, collapses
- 'Malcolm in the Middle’ to return with new episodes featuring Frankie Muniz
- Is shoplifting on the rise? Retail data shows it's fallen in many cities post-pandemic
Ranking
- Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
- Why is the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix so late? That and all your burning questions, explained
- Rafael Nadal will reveal his comeback plans soon after missing nearly all of 2023
- Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels is likely out for season but plans return in 2024
- 'No Good Deed': Who's the killer in the Netflix comedy? And will there be a Season 2?
- Facing an uncertain future, 70 endangered yellow-legged frogs released in California lake
- 'The Dukes of Hazzard' cast reunites, Daisy Duke star Catherine Bach hints at potential reboot
- 2025 Toyota Camry: The car is going hybrid for the first time. What will be different?
Recommendation
What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
The Best Advent Calendars for Kids: Bluey, PAW Patrol, Disney, Barbie & More
Karol G wins best album at Latin Grammys, with Bizarrap and Shakira also taking home awards
Second arrest made in Halloween weekend shooting in Tampa that killed 2, injured 16 others
Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
Out of control wildfires are ravaging Brazil's wildlife-rich Pantanal wetlands
New York will automatically seal old criminal records under law signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul
Old Navy's Early Black Friday 2023 Deals Have Elevated Basics From $12