Helene heads north of the Triangle, leaving flooding, fallen trees and damage in her wake

As Helene made her slog through North Carolina, she brought heavy rains and gusty winds to the state, leaving behind flash flooding, two tornadoes and at least two deaths.

The storm’s eye made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend around 11:10 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, as a Category 4 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

By 5 a.m. Sept. 27, Helene had been downgraded to a tropical storm, according to the NHC. Maximum sustained winds had decreased to around 70 mph, and the center of the storm was expected to move over central and northeastern Georgia before turning northwestward and slow down over the Tennessee Valley.

The NHC predicted “catastrophic and life-threatening flash and urban flooding, including numerous landslides” across parts of the southern Appalachians and “damaging wind gusts” over parts of Georgia and the Carolinas on Sept. 27.

But damage wasn’t limited to the mountains. At least 15 people were injured, four seriously, in Nash County when a tornado hit the Eastern North Carolina city of Rocky Mount.

By the time Helene crawled out of the state, it had become a tropical depression and then a post-tropical cyclone.

How Helene will impact western NC

President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for North Carolina on Sept. 26, which allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help fund emergency protective measures in much of western North Carolina, including evacuations and emergency shelters, The News & Observer previously reported.

The National Weather Service’s office in Greenville, South Carolina, called Helene “one of the most significant weather events to happen in the western portions of the area in the modern era” in a Sept. 26 social media post.

Helene was predicted to bring heavy rain to western North Carolina, increasing the risk of landslides.

Flash flood warnings were issued across western North Carolina — including in Asheville, Hickory and Charlotte — the morning of Sept. 27.

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for parts of Mecklenburg, Transylvania and McDowell counties.

Helene to bring rain, winds & potentially tornadoes to the Triangle

Severe weather had moved out of the Triangle by Friday afternoon.

A band of showers and thunderstorms with heavy rain moved across the Triangle through the morning.

Sustained wind speeds of 15-25 mph were expected, with gusts of 35-45 mph, throughout the morning and early afternoon Sept. 27.

The most life-threatening risks were flash flooding and tornadoes, the meteorologist said, encouraging people to have a way to quickly receive alerts about weather hazards as they arise.

Duke Energy customers may report and track outages on the provider’s website. More than 215,000 Duke Energy customers in North Carolina were without power around 7 a.m. Sept. 27.

Check where tornado, flood and other severe weather watches and warnings have been issued here.

Helene causes power outages and flooding across NC

Gov. Roy Cooper said during a morning briefing Sept. 27 that there are an estimated 879,000 power outages across the state and that there have already been more than 100 swift water rescues.

”This is one of the worst storms in modern history for parts of Western North Carolina. The end of the rain is not the end of the threat,” Cooper said.

As N.C. Emergency Management Director Will Ray gave a Sept. 27 morning update on Helene, a harsh tone sounded from cell phones throughout the room, warning of a flash flood warning in the immediate area until 3 p.m.

”With such significant rainfall, water levels and flooding in the Western North Carolina mountains can rapidly change and cause a substantial threat to life. Many counties in Western North Carolina have ordered evacuations to save lives,” Ray said.

Cooper also emphasized that Western North Carolinians should stay at home instead of driving through stormy conditions on roadways that could be susceptible to flooding.

”People in Western North Carolina should consider all roads closed unless you’re seeking higher ground,” Cooper said.

Statewide, there were more than 290 road closures the morning of Sept. 27, many in the western part of the state but some lingering in the Southeastern corner from last week’s unnamed storm that brought heavy rains to the region.

Helene closes Triangle schools & cancels and delays flights at RDU

All public schools in the Triangle were closed to students and staff Sept. 27. These include:

• Wake County public schools
• Durham Public Schools
• Orange County Schools
• Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
• Chatham County Schools
• Johnston County Public Schools: These schools will have a remote learning day. After-school activities are canceled.

Wake Tech and Durham Tech also closed their campuses.

Helene created problems for travelers out of RDU Airport on Sept. 27. Flights to Charlotte scheduled to leave RDU before noon were canceled, and some afternoon flights are delayed. More than 1,000 flights at Charlotte’s airport have been disrupted during the past couple of days, The Charlotte Observer reported.

Flights scheduled to leave RDU before noon Sept. 27, headed to cities including Boston, Detroit, Atlanta, Chicago, Indianapolis, Washington, D.C., Orlando and Austin, were canceled or delayed.

Check the status of flights to and from RDU Airport here.

This story was originally published September 27, 2024 at 8:11 AM with the headline "Helene heads north of the Triangle, leaving flooding, fallen trees and damage in her wake."

Renee Umsted

The News & Observer

919-419-6579

Renee Umsted is The News & Observer’s Affordability Reporter. She writes about what it costs to live in the Triangle, with a consumer-focused approach. She has a degree in journalism from TCU.