Helene's hardest-hit zone to receive welcome reprieve from heavy rain
Hurricane Helene will long be remembered for its catastrophic impacts not only at the point of landfall but also well inland to the southern Appalachians, where feet of rain, combined with steep terrain and antecedent wet conditions, resulted in an unprecedented flooding disaster.
AccuWeather meteorologists expect generally dry conditions to grace the region as cleanup and recovery efforts continue into early October.
"Off-and-on showers that have dotted the southern Appalachians since the weekend will wind down by Monday night," AccuWeather Meteorologist Mike Youman said. "Drier conditions are then likely through a majority of the week."
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As millions endure days to potentially a week or more without power, how high the actual temperature and AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature climb will be important to note.
AccuWeather experts say that while intense heat is not expected to build over the region, high temperatures will be near to as much as 5 degrees Fahrenheit above the historical average. This will put highs generally in the upper 70s to middle 80s across the interior Southeast and the lower 90s in the Florida Panhandle.
"Although temperatures will be close to the historical average in many places, humidity levels across the hardest-hit areas of the Carolinas, eastern Tennessee, Georgia and Florida will be high, and it will feel muggy," Youman said, noting that this would make it more difficult to stay cool, especially for those with no air conditioning.
AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures are expected to be 4-8 degrees above the actual thermometer reading during the midday and early afternoon hours through the week.
At peak, more than a dozen rivers were on the rampage across the Southeast states following Helene's deluge.
"Even as waters recede over the interior high ground of the southern Appalachians, the slow-moving disaster will continue to move downstream in South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
The risk of dam failure in the hardest-hit areas will generally ease. However, some dams that have been damaged or stressed due to record-high water levels may still be at risk of failure. Saturated ground along some streams and rivers will be at risk of giving way, which may result in some roads remaining closed.
The river gauge along the French Broad River in Fletcher, North Carolina, crested at 30.3 feet on Friday evening, smashing the previous high mark of 20.1 feet set in September 2004 during Hurricane Frances. Farther upstream in Asheville, North Carolina, the river crested at 24.7 feet, the highest level ever recorded at this particular gauge since measurements began in October 1895.
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Despite the lack of widespread precipitation after Helene, it will take time for the feet of rain that fell to cycle downstream through all of the region's waterways.
"Water levels along many of the rivers in the intermediate elevations, known as the Midlands or Piedmont, and lower elevations, known as the Lowcountry, will continue to rise in the coming days. In some cases, such as along the Wateree and Congaree rivers in South Carolina and the Ohoopee River in Georgia, moderate to major flooding will occur. The surge of water will tend to be much less extreme in most rivers just above sea level near the coast, but a gradual water level rise will occur," Sosnowski stated.
Some roads and bridges that have been washed away or are still at risk of compromise pending inspections will result in major travel disruptions. Some of the major highways affected include interstates 26 and 40. Downed trees, power lines, rocks and other debris in remote areas will also temporarily hinder travel.
AccuWeather hurricane experts say the southern United States should not let its guard down for additional tropical threats heading into October. The same waters where Helene formed could once again be the breeding ground for one or possibly two new tropical depressions or storms during the first couple weeks of October.
Although it is too early to determine where a potential tropical storm would track, there is a possibility tropical moisture could return to part of the Southeast during the first weekend of October.
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