Climate Impact Report – 9/26

September 26, 2024

Key Facts Of The Day 9/26

Hurricane Helene

As of Thursday morning, Helene strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane.
Helene was expected to intensify and eventually become a Category 3 Hurricane or stronger before making landfall in Florida late Thursday evening.
On Thursday morning, parts of the Florida Keys were experiencing wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph.
As of Thursday morning, tropical storm-force sustained winds extended nearly 350 miles from Helene’s center.
As of Thursday morning, over 4.4 million people were under rare level four of four excessive rainfall risk warnings in parts of the Southeast, including a portion of the Florida panhandle.
- Parts of western North Carolina experienced more than half a foot of rain. Over the weekend, this region was forecasted to see up to 20 inches of rain.
- The Florida Panhandle and southern Georgia are expected to see widespread rainfall amounts of four to eight inches in just a matter of hours.
- Helene was expected to bring two to three months of rainfall to portions of the southeast.
On Thursday morning, a tornado watch that was expected to be in effect until 9 pm was issued for more than 3.5 million people in parts of eastern Georgia and South Carolina.
- A tornado watch was issued for 17 million people in Florida until 8 pm. Cities under the watch included Tampa, Miami, Fort Myers and Orlando.
On Thursday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency warned residents in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Alabama of the risks the hurricane poses after making landfall. These included watching out for downed power lines and avoiding wading or driving through flood water.
Helene had caused more than 800 flights nationwide to be canceled.
Several Florida school districts and universities announced closures ahead of Hurricane Helene’s arrival.
On Thursday morning, the National Weather Service warned that Helene could cause power outages that would last days, if not weeks, when the storm makes landfall.
- As of Thursday morning, 25,101 residents in Florida, 14,598 in Alabama, 11,127 in North Carolina, and 12,494 in Virginia were without power.
Storm surges of up to 20 feet were forecasted in Steinhatchee, Florida, with the peak expected to occur near Helene’s landfall.
- High storm surges were also expected in Tampa (five to eight feet), Apalachicola (10 to 15 feet), Tallahassee (six to nine inches), Macon (five to eight inches), and Atlanta (six to ten inches).
On Wednesday, torrential rain flooded parts of the Southeast. Widespread rain amounts upwards of 2 inches fell from central Georgia through the mountains of Tennessee and the Carolinas and farther north into Virginia.