Hurricane Helene was a catastrophic category 4 hurricane that made landfall in the southeastern U.S. in September 2024. This storm brought about deadly floods, storm surges, extreme winds, and numerous tornadoes. The hurricane resulted in 249 fatalities, making it the third deadliest hurricane of the modern era. Although the hurricane made landfall in Florida, western North Carolina arguably had the most severe damage. The reason western NC was impacted so drastically was due to the weather pattern in place at the time before and during the hurricane. Meteorologists have identified key factors that lead to a “perfect hurricane”. Among these factors are a dome of high pressure to the east-northeast of the hurricane and an area of low pressure in the upper atmosphere to the north of the storm. When all of these are in place, the atmosphere to the north can siphon huge amounts of warm, moist air from an approaching hurricane. In addition, a frontal system at the surface of the mountains forced air upward contributing to multiple rounds of heavy rain. Meteorologists call these pre-hurricane rain events “PREs,” which stands for Predecessor Rainfall Events. Leading up to the hurricane’s landfall in western NC the area experienced 10-15 inches of rain, leaving the ground saturated and rivers swelling. Hurricane Helene itself brought about a foot of rain meaning that the flooding only worsened. With the ground already greatly saturated, the additional rain and wind created catastrophic flooding and nearly 2,000 landslides. This wiped away homes, schools, buildings, roads, and more. At one point, all roads were closed in western NC to non-emergent travel. In all, it is estimated that the hurricane has caused $78.7 billion in damage. Western NC is still facing hardships as they try to rebuild all they have lost.
