Hurricane Helene could be ‘historic storm’ for the Southeast. What to expect in NC

Hurricane Helene is making its way toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, and is predicted to become a significant storm that will deliver rain to North Carolina in coming days.

The storm is expected to bring hurricane and tropical storm conditions to the Yucatan Peninsula on Wednesday, Sept. 25. It’s expected to “rapidly intensify” over the Gulf of Mexico and move toward Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center .

Helene is forecast to bring “life-threatening storm surge” and hurricane-force winds to parts of Florida, the NHC said in an advisory early in the morning on Sept. 25.

The United States, including portions of Florida, the Southeast, the Southern Appalachians and the Tennessee Valley, should expect “ considerable and potentially life-threatening flash and urban flooding .”

The center of the storm is predicted to reach land along the Big Bend area of Florida, late Thursday or Thursday night , as a “large major hurricane,” according to the NHC.

Models show the eye of the storm heading north through Georgia and into Tennessee, near the North Carolina border. The NHC is predicting “devastating hurricane-force winds” across parts of northern Florida and southern Georgia where the core of the storm moves inland. Strong winds are expected over the southeastern U.S., including higher regions of the southern Appalachians, because the storm is moving quickly.

Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore emphasized the impacts of Helene in a tweet posted around noon Sept. 25, saying it “will be a historic storm for many including southern Appalachia with flooding and wind damage.”

“There is the risk for major flooding in parts of the Southeast late Thursday into Friday, including the Atlanta area as well as the steep terrain of the southern Appalachians, where the flooding risk can be especially elevated as well as the risk for mudslides and rockslides,” AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jonathan Porter said in a report .

What are the impacts for Raleigh and central North Carolina?

The Triangle has already been receiving rain this week, and Helene is predicted to add to the total rainfall.

While the heaviest rain will affect areas west of the Triangle, the greatest impacts from the storm will come to Raleigh and central North Carolina on Friday, Sept. 27 , Nick Luchetti, a meteorologist with the U.S. National Weather Service Forecast Office in Raleigh told The News & Observer.

Total rainfall from Helene is expected be around 1.5 inches in the Raleigh area .

There’s also a chance of isolated tornadoes, especially across the western Piedmont , during the evening hours on Sept. 27 .

Flash flooding is possible with heavier downpours. The NWS Raleigh office issued a flood warning for the Neuse River near Clayton in Johnston County, in effect through the morning of Thursday, Sept. 26. Other rivers in the area may flood, depending on the rainfall received ahead of and during the storm.

An AccuWeather report from 1 p.m. Sept. 25 warns of downed trees and inland flooding in western North Carolina .

The storm will weaken as it continues to move north after making landfall, but western North Carolina could experience gusty winds .

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