NOAA: Hurricane Helene Threatens Widespread Inland Flooding

Thanks to climate change, hurricanes are getting stronger and bigger, and if Hurricane Helene is any indication, they will cause more damage once they make their way inland than they ever have before.

The threat Hurricane Helene poses is not just to the coastal areas of Florida where it will make landfall but to the next several states north of it. That has caused the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to issue a rare dire warning to anyone living above Florida.

While Hurricane Helene is predicted to make landfall on Thursday evening along Florida’s northwest coast, the NOAA has issued a warning to parts of the southeastern United States, stating that heavy rainfall will begin well before the “unusually large” storm makes landfall. They warn that “communities need to prepare for catastrophic and life-threatening flooding from Helene, even well after landfall.”

That last bit is the most important part. Hurricane Helene is massive, and when it breaks up, it won’t just dissolve into a series of annoying thunderstorms like a lot of hurricanes do. It’s going pour so much rain on to several states above Florida that the NOAA is already warning parts of Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina to be prepared for flash floods.

We’re talking 6 to 12 inches of rain, with localized totals potentially reaching 18 inches, especially in the southern Appalachians. Life-threatening flash floods, urban flooding, river flooding—the works.

The southeast has been getting drenched lately, which will only compound problems, adding even more water to areas that are already heavily saturated. Where rain had already fallen before Helene showed up, expect a lot of downed power lines and fallen trees. Areas with steep terrain, like Tallahassee, Atlanta, and Asheville, will see an increased risk of landslides.

Helene’s incredible intensity and shockingly quick formation can be attributed to record high ocean temperatures brought on by climate change. Remember, hurricanes feed on warm water. Climate change makes our water warmer. A hurricane that forms on a Tuesday can become a category three by Thursday. It didn’t used to be that way, but that’s life when you don’t listen to the scientists.