Weather Wednesday: Studying historic hurricanes Helene & Milton

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Hurricane Helene was a Category 4 storm that first struck Florida’s Gulf Coast on Sept. 26.

The hurricane dumped more than 40 trillion gallons of rain — an unheard of amount of water that has stunned experts — leaving a trail of destruction for hundreds of miles across several states.

Meteorologists believe a combination of several systems played a role on the destruction.

Before Helene struck, rain had fallen heavily for days because a low pressure system had “cut off” from the jet stream and stalled over the southeast. That funneled plenty of warm water from the Gulf of Mexico. And a tropical storm that fell just short of named status, parked along North Carolina’s Atlantic coast, dumped as much as 20 inches of rain.

Then Helene hit, one of the largest storms in the last couple decades and one that held plenty of rain because it was young and moved fast before it hit the Appalachians the resulting torrential floodwaters ripped homes off their foundations and uprooted trees, leaving thousands without power and water for weeks.

At least 246 people have died in what is now the deadliest hurricane to hit the mainland U.S. since Katrina killed more than 1,300 people in 2005, according to statistics from the National Hurricane Center and many are still missing.

Watch the full segment in the video player above to learn more about the hurricanes.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17.