The death toll continues to rise after now tropical storm Helene slammed into Florida’s Big Bend last night as a Category 4 hurricane. Millions are still without power in Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas as we continue to track flash flooding warnings, tornado threats and reports that people in Georgia are trapped inside buildings and homes. I’m also just getting word that more than two dozen people are trapped on the roof of the Unicoi County Hospital in Tennessee.
According to Phil Klotzbach, a Colorado State University senior hurricane scientist, Helene is the first known Cat. 4 to hit Florida.
Governor Roy Cooper is also now saying that Helene is one of the worst storms in modern history for parts of North Carolina. Some areas in North Carolina received 30″ of rain in the past 24 hours. All roads in western North Carolina are closed because of the storm impact.
Tracking the Tropics:
Helene is now post-tropical Cyclone Helene with 45 mph winds, and while winds have gone down, it’s the historic rainfall that’s creating catastrophic flooding. Some places in North Carolina have already received 30″ of rain in the past 48 hours.
Isaac: Hurricane Issac is intensifying in the central subtropical Atlantic with 85 mph winds. It was originally forecasted towards areas like Spain but conditions in the atmosphere are expected to weaken the storm.
Joyce: Tropical storm Joyce is about 1,000 miles away from the Northern Leeward Islands with sustained winds of 50 mph. We’re also tracking a second system that has a 30% formation in the next seven days.
Disturbance 1: We’re also tracking an area of low pressure over the Western Caribbean Sea. Right now, we have a 30% chance of formation in the next seven days.
Your weather team will update you on the tropics and your local forecast on tv, online and on our app.
You can track radar here.