ROANOKE, Va. – Helene was a Category 4 major hurricane with maximum winds of 140 mph. However, this storm illustrated how damaging a hurricane of this strength can be while impacting multiple states both during and after its tropical life.
Helene started off as a tropical disturbance in the Caribbean on Sept. 23. By Sept. 26, it was a major hurricane taking aim at Florida with a central pressure of 939 mb.
While impacts were felt up and down Florida’s Gulf Coast, many impacts stretched hundreds of miles inland after the storm made landfall.
- 33 tornadoes spawned during Helene’s tropical phase and six more formed after transitioning to a non-tropical storm. Three tornadoes occurred in Virginia.
- 7.4 million customers lost power during the event (roughly 16 million people).
- Heavy rains along the Appalachian mountains resulted in over 2000 observed landslides.
Though Helene was a Category 4 storm at the time of arrival, peak surface winds were near 86 knots in the state of Florida (1kt = 1.15mph).
Grayson County saw wind gusts near 65 mph, with many others in Virginia experiencing tropical storm force winds (39mph+).
Unfortunately, a total of 65 people lost their lives as a direct cause of winds from Helene.
Rainfall was by far the most impactful parameter from Hurricane Helene. More than 30 inches fell in western North Carolina, resulting in the stories we have all heard from the days, weeks and months following the torrential rains.
77 people tragically lost their lives in NC due to freshwater flooding. An additional 17 others lost their lives across Tennessee and South Carolina.
There are many reasons for why Hurricane Helene was as bad as it was. A cut off low dropping heavy rain in the days leading up to the arrival of the storm is one huge factor, but another has to do with the landscape of the region.
Mountainous areas are subject to upslope winds, especially during active weather (fronts, hurricanes, etc.). Winds hit against the mountains and shove air upwards. This cools and condenses the air, resulting in precipitation shortly after. A direct effect of upsloping is heavy and higher rainfall and rainfall totals.
** This article was entirely possible thanks to the great work of the staff at NOAA. We have only scratched the surface of information available on Hurricane Helene in this article. If you would like to learn more, and/or read the full analysis, you can click here. **
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