The latest information from the National Hurricane Center indicates that Helene is now expected to become a Category 4 major hurricane before it makes landfall on Thursday evening. It will still be a powerful hurricane when it moves through Tallahassee and into Georgia west of Valdosta. The latest maps show hurricane warnings as far north as Macon in central Georgia. This has never happened before since hurricane warnings have been issued. There is a potential for hurricane-force wind gusts into Atlanta. I am running out of words to describe the catastrophe this may be, but most people that live in these areas have never experienced a storm like this before and they will be totally unprepared for what they will have to deal with. One of the emergency managers in Georgia said that because of the size and severity of the storm, which will cover the entire state of Georgia, it will be like Hurricanes Michael and Irma combined. Power will be out across a lot of the state, there will be significant loss of trees, and agriculture will take a huge hit at a time when many farmers have not yet recovered from Hurricane Michael and the other storms that have passed over Georgia since then, including Hurricane Debby just a few weeks ago.
Today’s rain was not associated with Helene but with a Predecessor Rain Event (PRE) that brought up to 4.6 inches at one of my UGA weather stations at Pine Mountain just north of Columbus. That rain will continue overnight and into next morning. The rain from Helene will start later in the day on Thursday as the storm center approaches. Winds will gradually increase over the day. In North Georgia, they will reach their peak early in the morning before starting to ease. The track has shifted slightly to the west again, but considering how large the storm is, that is almost inconsequential in terms of the expected impacts.
At this point, all preparations for dealing with the hurricane should be near completion, especially in Florida, South Georgia and Southeast Alabama. Areas farther north will continue to experience heavy rain that could make it difficult to move around, so only travel if you can do so safely. Conditions should start to ease on Friday once the storm center moves north of your location.
