What to expect from Tropical Storm Helene in Gaston County

Gaston County can expect heavy rain, especially late Thursday night and Friday morning, but the Tropical Storm Helene's impact on Gaston is expected to be less severe than what is expected in the mountains, according to the National Weather Service.

Gaston County will likely see heavy rain from Wednesday through Friday afternoon, wit the most intense periods of rainfall occurring late Thursday night and Friday morning, Meteorologist Doug Outlaw said in an interview.

Gaston County is expected to get three to three and a half inches of rain total, with more rain closer to the mountains, Outlaw said.

"Anybody in the Gaston County area who is thinking about doing any traveling toward the mountains should postpone that until after this event is over," Outlaw said. "Portions of the mountains are expecting 10 to 15 inches of rain, and there's going to be the potential for landslides in the mountains."

Wind speeds in Gaston County will slowly increase throughout the day on Thursday, with the most intense wind speeds between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m. Friday morning. Gusts could reach 45 mph, and the combination of saturated ground and that wind speed could topple trees, which could carry power lines down with them.

"And so there's going to be power outages, especially Friday morning. People should be prepared for that … Certainly fully charge your phones before that and also make sure you have workable flashlights during any length of time for a power outage," Outlaw said.

The weather is expected to improve Friday afternoon and the storm will be completely over by Friday evening, but it could take time to get everyone's power on again, Outlaw said.

"It's gonna be a pretty widespread event," he added.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: What to expect from Tropical Storm Helene in Gaston County