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Carolinas, Tennessee Valley In Storm’s Path

Carolinas, Tennessee Valley In Storm’s Path

Vaseline 3 weeks ago

Topline

Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend late Thursday as a Category 4 storm, knocking out power to more than two million homes and businesses and killing at least six people in Florida and Georgia before heading toward North Carolina and the Tennessee on Friday Valley raged.

Key facts

The center of Helene, which has been downgraded to a tropical storm since landfall, was about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Athens, Georgia, as of 7 a.m. EDT Friday morning, the National Hurricane Center said, with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (100 km per hour).

Helene is expected to bring “damaging wind gusts and life-threatening flooding” to the southeastern and southern Appalachians, with total rain accumulating up to 50 centimeters in isolated areas.

Tornadoes are possible across parts of eastern Georgia, the Carolinas and southern Virginia on Friday, and tropical storm conditions are expected to persist along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina.

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in North Carolina’s Asheville and McDowell counties as rivers and reservoirs are expected to swell due to heavy rain, and several schools in Kentucky and Indiana will be closed Friday as winds and heavy rain lash the region.

A storm surge warning remains in effect for parts of Florida, including Tampa Bay, and from Indian Pass to Apalachicola in the Panhandle.

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Important background

Hurricane Helene first made landfall around 11:10 PM EDT near the town of Perry in the Big Bend area of ​​Florida. The storm has so far passed through Florida and Georgia, killing at least six people, ABC News reported. At least one person has died in Florida, one in North Carolina and four in Georgia. Millions are without power. A state of emergency has been declared in Atlanta, where videos on social media show dramatic rescue efforts.

What is storm surge?

Storm surge is the “abnormal rise of water generated by a storm” that exceeds normal tide levels, according to the National Weather Service. Storm surges are caused by strong onshore winds from a tropical storm or hurricane, and storm surges from tropical cyclones are the leading cause of fatalities from hurricanes, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Does Helene have influence over airlines?

Tampa International Airport closed to the public at 2 a.m. EDT on Thursday in anticipation of Hurricane Helene and “plans to resume services when it is safe to do so on Friday.”

Tangent

Helene is the eighth storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and comes weeks after Francine made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 2 on September 11. Forecasters predicted this year will be the busiest storm season (from June 1 to November 30) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has ever made predictions – up to 25 named storms and 13 hurricanes – but the season so far hasn’t been as active as predicted.

Read more

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