Hurricane Helene Nears Landfall as a Category Four Storm; Flooding Rain, Damaging Winds, Widespread Power Outages to Extend Far Inland Across Georgia and the Carolinas

Hurricane Helene had one of the bursts of rapid intensification we feared would happen late this afternoon and evening, jumping from a category two storm to a category four hurricane. Landfall is only an hour or two away in the Big Bend area of Florida. Maximum sustained winds have increased to 140 mph. For reference, that is a little stronger than Hurricane Hugo was when it hit South Carolina in 1989. Helene will bring devastating damage to the Big Bend area with extreme winds and a storm surge of 15 to 20 feet. The hurricane's forward speed has increased to NNE at 24 mph. The combination of high intensity and fast forward speed will mean damaging winds will spread far inland overnight into tomorrow morning across Georgia, much of South Carolina and western North Carolina. Power outages will be so widepread in the hardest hit areas that restoration will probably take several days to complete.

Here is the latest forecast track from the NHC:

Here are the European model computer forecast of maximum wind gusts and the GFS forecast of additional rainfall.

It still looks like the mountains of NC, SC and GA will be especially hard with with wind damage, power outages, floods and landslides.

Flash flooding issues will continue elsewhere as well as the core of the storm moves north tonight. Here is the outline of flash flood risks from the NWS.

Much of the area are under tornado watches as well. Here are two maps, one showing the risk areas for tonight until 8 am, the other for after 8 am tomorrow. Stay alert of your local watches and warnings.

This will be a hurricane the Southeast will remember for a very long time. Please be safe during the storm by staying aware of local forecasts and warnings. And also be safe after the storm during the clean up. Don't try to do clean up duties you are not experienced at, such as using chain saws, climbing on roofs, etc. And be extremely careful with generators.