Update: Hurricane Helene weakens to tropical storm. Track it, see when it will reach Western NC

Hurricane Helene weakened to a tropical storm with sustained winds of 70 mph today, Sept. 27, as it approached Western North Carolina.

Helene did become a Category 4 hurricane before making landfall.

Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida on Thursday night and turned northwestward and slow over the Tennessee Valley on Friday and Saturday. Though Florida will be hit first, other areas are also in the storm's path including Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina, as well as northern and eastern Georgia.

More: Hurricane Helene forecast for Western NC: 'Catastrophic, life-threatening' flooding possible

Hurricane Helene tracker live

More: Self-evacuate: Fletcher, Biltmore Village residents urged to leave river areas ahead of Helene

Western NC weather: major risk of landslides, flash flooding, more

In addition to the impending threat of severe weather caused by Helene, WNC saw a "predecessor" rainfall event that brought up to 8 inches in many areas. Combined with the 6-10 inches of rainfall expected over the next 24 hours, this has significantly increased the risk of landslides and flash flooding in WNC locales including Asheville.

"This will be one of the most significant weather events to happen in the western portions of the area in the modern era," the National Weather Service said in a statement. "Record flooding is forecasted and has been compared to the floods of 1916 in the Asheville area. The impacts from this event are expected to be greater than Tropical Storm Fred from August 2021, the mountains in 2004 from Frances and Ivan, and in Upstate South Carolina the Saluda River Basin flooding from 1949. We plead with everyone that you take every single weather warning very seriously through the entirety of this event as impacts will be life-threatening and make sure to have multiple ways to receive the alerts. The protection of life and property is the overall mission of the National Weather Service, and we pledge to stand by the folks of the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia. We cannot stress the significance of this event enough. Heed all evacuation orders from your local Emergency Managers and go to a storm shelter if you do not feel safe at your current location.

"Landslides, including fast-moving debris flows consisting of water, mud, falling rocks, trees, and other large debris, are most likely within small valleys that drain steep slopes. Landslides are powerful and potentially deadly, capable of washing out roads, bridges, and homes. People living in areas prone to landslides should be aware of the danger and be prepared to act."

In previous reporting from the Citizen Times preceding this predecessor, National Weather Service Meteorologist Clay Chaney explained:

"One of the setups, though, for Asheville that's concerning is that we're going to have a lot of rainfall prior to Helene — we're talking 4 to 8 inches of rainfall across the mountains, especially along the Blue Ridge Escarpment," Chaney said. "Then on top of that, you get that tropical rain band associated with Helene on top of strong wind gusts, that's likely going to result in numerous trees down, numerous power outages and also numerous landslides."

The NWS said that the heavy rainfall and high winds associated with Helene are expected to arrive in the WNC area this evening, Thursday, Sept. 26, and will likely have cleared out by Friday night, Sept. 27.

NHS maps created at 1:43 p.m. Sept. 26 show rainfall predictions and areas at highest risk of flash floods.

More: Hurricane Helene: Western NC high-impact road closures in Asheville, I-26 flooding

Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at iseaton@citizentimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Update: Hurricane Helene weakens to tropical storm. Track it, see when it will reach Western NC