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Hurricane Helene on Thursday strengthened to a Category 3 storm with 125 mph winds. The North Carolina mountains were already seeing severe flooding on Thursday, and the central portion of the state will see the worst impacts Friday morning.
Helene is expected to make landfall by 8 p.m. on Thursday along the Florida panhandle as a strong Category 3 or 4 storm.
“As it moves over very warm ocean water, it is likely to rapidly intensify to a Category 4 before it makes landfall,” WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said.
The National Weather Service office in Tallahassee is forecasting storm surges of up to 20 feet in Florida and warned they could be particularly “catastrophic and unsurvivable.”
Helene local impacts
Friday is when we’re expecting the worst impacts in North Carolina, particularly during the morning commute. That’s when we’ll see the heaviest rain and strongest winds, according to Wilmoth.
Impacts to central N.C. include 1 to 3 inches of rain, 20 to 30 mph wind gusts and isolated tornadoes. The best tornado threat will be Friday morning into the early afternoon, according to WRAL meteorologist Anthony Baglione. On Friday, some counties south of the Triangle are under a Level 3 (out of 5) risk for severe storms and tornadoes.
“Our heaviest rain will come the first half of the day Friday,” Wilmoth said. “By Friday night, then the heaviest rain moves to the north and west of us.”
Cumberland County Schools announced on Thursday schools will operate under remote learning schedule on Friday. Central North Carolina will likely start feeling impacts from Helene during the morning commute. Other school districts, including Durham County Schools, Chatham County Schools, Lee County Schools and Moore County Schools.
You can see all school delays and closing here.
The IBMA Blue Grass Festival also delayed the start of the festival until 5 p.m. on Friday.
Helene will then move quickly north through Georgia and west into Tennessee before breaking up.
“It’s likely to hold together as a category 1 hurricane as it moves through parts of Georgia, so that means a lot of wind damage there,” WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said. “It moves into Tennessee and dissipates as we get into the weekend.”
The Triangle and surrounding areas are under a Level 1 risk for severe weather Thursday and a Level 2 risk for severe weather Friday.
Make sure you’re staying up to date with the latest forecasts by downloading the WRAL News app.
Helene mountain impacts
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a tropical storm warning for parts of the North Carolina mountains and Charlotte. Many western North Carolina counties are under a tropical storm watch, and tornado warnings were popping up in the Charlotte area on Thursday morning.
North Carolina will feel the impacts of Helene on Thursday and Friday. The mountains will take the brunt of the storm Thursday through early Friday, and conditions will also deteriorate in central N.C. by Friday morning.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper declared a State of Emergency on Wednesday ahead of the storm’s arrival. The large storm spans about 900 miles wide, so its impacts will be far-reaching.
“This is a huge, huge storm,” said WRAL meteorologist Aimee Wilmoth.
In the North Carolina mountains, we could see wind gusts of 70 mph in higher elevations and 50 mph in lower elevations. This has the potential to cause widespread power outages and other wind-related damage.
At 12 p.m. on Thursday, the southern mountains were already seeing major flooding, and 6 to 8 inches of rain had fallen. Biltmore Village was partially underwater, and Carrier Park in Asheville was flooded. The entire Blue Ridge Parkway was closed until further notice.
The NWS said the western Carolinas could experience “catastrophic, life-threatening” flooding, especially where grounds are already saturated from previous rainfall. A stationary front unaffiliated with Helene already dumped around 6 inches of rain in parts of the North Carolina mountains on Wednesday.
“We’re most concerned about the mountains of North Carolina,” Gardner said. “This is where the heaviest rain is going to be.”
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