Helene's path of destruction has resulted in historic rainfall, severe flooding, power outages, and winds reaching 140 miles per hour across the Southeast. North Carolina was particularly hard-hit on Saturday, with cities like Asheville experiencing extensive flooding. Residents were trapped in their homes without electricity or food, and rescue efforts were hampered by impassable roads. Governor Roy Cooper described Helene as "one of the worst storms in modern history for parts of North Carolina." Zeb Smathers, the mayor of Canton, N.C., shared his distress on Facebook during a brief respite from emergency response efforts, calling it an "unimaginable and horrific disa ter." He expressed heartbreak for both his town and the entire region.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation reported that more than 400 roads remained closed statewide, including all roads in Western NC. They urged the public to give crews space to clear and inspect roads and bridges. The state had received over 2 feet of rain in its mountainous regions due to a rare combination of weather patterns before Helene made landfall in Florida on Thursday night. Busick in Yancey County recorded 29.58 inches of rain within 48 hours. In Asheville, record high water levels were observed on the French Broad River and Swannanoa River near the Biltmore estate, with nearby historic Biltmore Village nearly submerged.
Since September 26th, over 5,000 emergency calls have been made to 911. More than 200 residents required rescue due to Helene’s torrential rains. Local, state, and federal officials mobilized to assist with relief efforts. North Carolina activated hundreds of its National Guard members while receiving additional support from Maryland and at least 17 other states' Guard units. Three federal teams were deployed, and supplies were airlifted into affected areas as search and rescue operations continued.
Helene made landfall at approximately 11:10 p.m. ET Thursday near Perry, Florida—marking it as the first Category 4 storm to hit Florida’s Big Bend region since records began in 1851. The storm continued its trajectory across western Kentucky on Saturday and was expected to move southeastward along the Kentucky-Tennessee border through the weekend according to the National Hurricane Center.
Biden briefed on 'tragic loss of life,' devastation
On Saturday, President Joe Biden approved emergency disaster relief aid for Tennessee. That evening, he was briefed on the impacts of Hurricane Helene across multiple Southeastern states, including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee. The briefing was conducted by Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. According to a White House statement, Criswell reported on the tragic loss of life and extensive devastation in Florida's Big Bend communities that she visited earlier that day. Criswell is scheduled to travel to Georgia on Sunday and North Carolina on Monday to expedite support for survivors and deploy additional search and rescue teams to accelerate recovery efforts in North Carolina. The President will continue to receive updates throughout the weekend.
Downed trees, power lines across region
High winds from Helene, reaching hurricane strength, caused widespread damage by toppling trees, power lines, and cell towers across the region. Authorities and media reports indicated that dozens of deaths were attributed to the storm's impact, with the death toll nearing 50 as of Saturday morning. Officials anticipated this number would rise as door-to-door checks continued.
In North Carolina alone, there were 635,887 reported power outages by Saturday afternoon according to USA TODAY's power outage map. Crews from across the country were assisting with restoration efforts. On Friday night, 16 shelters in North Carolina provided refuge for approximately 1,100 residents. Due to spotty cellphone service in western parts of the state, telecom companies enabled "disaster roaming," allowing any phone to connect to any available network.
Statewide emergency declarations were issued by at least 29 counties and 52 towns and cities in North Carolina following Governor Cooper’s statewide emergency declaration on Wednesday ahead of the storm. Governor Cooper described Helene as a historic and catastrophic event for Western North Carolina and expressed gratitude for first responders working tirelessly to save lives and evacuate residents.
Why is Helene so destructive?
Helene's destructiveness stemmed from a combination of weather patterns that forecasters began warning about last Tuesday. A front overhead was set to interact with a plume of moisture being drawn in ahead of Helene. According to David Easterling, a rain expert with NOAA's National Climate Assessment Technical Support Unit, the rain "started well ahead of the storm, training up from the Gulf into our area, and circulation around the storm pushed moisture up from the extremely warm Gulf waters." These interactions, known as predecessor events, have been documented to cause heavy rains before the arrival of tropical storms and hurricanes. Jet stream winds blowing aloft at over 115 mph provided additional lift that enhanced moisture in the developing storms.
By Wednesday, the National Weather Service warned that parts of the region could experience rainfall rates up to 3 inches per hour. Satellite images showed how Helene and an upper-level low to the northwest merged on Wednesday, according to David Roth, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center. In North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains on Wednesday and Thursday, Asheville received nearly 10 inches of rain while Tryon saw 8 inches. Preliminary weather service data also reported six inches in Bristol-Johnson, Tennessee, and more than four inches in Knoxville.
Helene’s massive circulation brought even more rain as it transitioned into a post-tropical cyclone. The resulting rain flowing into rivers in mountainous areas led to catastrophic flooding, setting an all-time record high on the Pigeon River at Newport, Tennessee. Several flood level records broken on Friday were previously set over a century ago during heavy rains from two tropical systems in July 1916.
Floodwaters weighing 1,700 pounds per cubic yard washed away roads and cars and stranded residents in mountain communities. At Unicoi County Hospital in Erwin, Tennessee, floodwaters trapped 54 people on the roof. By Friday evening, record-breaking rainfall totals were reported across some Southeast locations with more than a foot of rain in parts of Georgia and South Carolina. Widespread amounts ranging from 4 to 7 inches were seen in Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
In North Carolina's mountains beyond Busick, Mount Mitchell—the highest peak east of the Mississippi River—received over two feet of rain. This deluge created raging torrents across the Southeast that forced people from their homes along eastern Tennessee’s Nolichucky River during Friday night’s deadliest hours.