A weakened Helene brings 'catastrophic' flooding as it crosses southern Appalachians

Follow NPR's live updates for the latest on Helene and the fallout of the storm.

Helene weakened to a post-tropical cyclone on Friday evening but continued to unleash “catastrophic” flooding in the southeastern U.S. and southern Appalachians, forecasters said.

Life-threatening flooding and landslides in parts of southern Appalachia were expected to continue into the evening, the National Hurricane Center said.

Gusty winds were still lashing parts of Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Carving a northwest path, Helene was expected to slow and then stall over the Tennessee Valley late Friday, according to forecasters.

“The expected slow motion could result in significant flooding over the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, and over the southern Appalachians through the weekend,” the center said in a late morning update.

In an evening update from the National Hurricane Center, maximum sustained winds were moving at 25 mph. The storm made landfall Thursday night in Florida’s Big Bend region — the nexus of the Panhandle and peninsula in the state’s northwest — as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph.

Preliminary post-landfall modeling showed the storm surge reached 15 feet above ground level in the Big Bend area near Keaton Beach, Steinhatchee and Horseshoe Beach, the National Weather Service said.

Flooding concerns have shifted to western North Carolina, which was expected to receive up to 11 inches of rain.

Death toll across four states reaches 40 people

At least 40 people in four states have died as a result of the storm, the Associated Press reported. As emergency rescue crews comb through the wreckage, officials in several states said they expected the number of storm-related deaths to climb.

While the worst of the storm is over for many in the Southeast, officials are warning residents to stay vigilant in its aftermath amid hazardous conditions, such as flooded and debris-strewn roads.

The storm surge reached more than 5 feet along the Gulf Coast of Florida Thursday night. Andrew Swan, 31, rode out the storm in Madeira Beach, Fla., watching over a friend’s house. He told WUSF the water rushed into the house up to his chest, and he spent the night sleeping on a kitchen counter with his legs over the stove.

West of Tampa, officials in Pinellas County described the scenes of wreckage there as a “war zone.”

Five Floridians were confirmed dead in the county, at least two from drownings, the sheriff’s office said.

The high winds and tornadoes were also blamed for several deaths. Gov. Ron DeSantis said one person died on a highway in Tampa from a falling sign. Another person died after a tree fell on their home in Dixie County.

The majority of deaths were in Georgia and the Carolinas. Two Georgians died in Wheeler County after their trailer was picked up by a tornado, an emergency management official said.

In North Carolina, Helene produced unusually heavy winds — up to 140 mph — on land, the strongest observed in coastal North Carolina since the start of modern meteorological recordkeeping in the 19th century.

Gov. Roy Cooper confirmed one death in Catawba County resulting from a vehicle crash on a flooded road. A second person died in Charlotte after a tree fell on a home, he said. A tornado in the state’s Rocky Mount area left four people in critical condition.

Fallen trees in South Carolina killed two people at their respective homes in Anderson County, a fire chief told local TV station WSPA. The death toll in the state totaled 19 people

Record-breaking rainfall in southern Appalachians

Heavy rains from Helene set a record in Atlanta, which received its highest 48-hour rainfall on record over the past two days. The Georgia Climate Office tweeted on Friday that the area has already seen 11.12 inches of rain, beating a previous record of 9.59 set in 1886. Record keeping started in 1878.

In North Carolina, the rainfall totals Friday afternoon were staggering: 29.58 inches for Busick, N.C.; 24.20 for nearby Mount Mitchell State Park; about 13 inches in Boone, some 55 miles away.

The storm dumped more than 8 inches of rain in Wilmington and wrought serious damage to coastal homes and small buildings, as well as agricultural fields.

Along with floods, the persistent rains have created landslide conditions in western North Carolina, as member station WFAE reported. The National Weather Prediction Center has forecast 6 to 12 inches for the region, well above the landslide condition threshold for the area.

In Tennessee, over 50 patients and staff were stuck on the roof of Unicoi County Hospital in Erwin, as floodwaters rose on Friday morning. By the afternoon, they were finally rescued.

Heavy rains inundate western North Carolina

Rising lakes and rivers as well as flooding from rapid rainfall led officials to close all roads in western North Carolina Friday.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation warned drivers to stay off the roads except for emergencies or efforts to evacuate to higher ground.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service released an urgent warning through Friday afternoon urging anyone below the Lake Lure Dam near Ashville to evacuate immediately to higher ground, after concerns that the nearly century-old dam could fail.

Brigadier General Daniel Hibner with the Army Corps of Engineers said dam failures are to be expected in flash flooding events like this one. “It’s not uncommon to see a dam failure in an event like this,” he said at a press briefing. “I would be surprised if there weren’t multiple (dam failures) throughout this area.”

Helene knocked out power to millions

More than 4 million homes and businesses were without power on Friday afternoon in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to poweroutage.us.

Meanwhile, the NHC warned about the potential for long-lasting power outages in southeastern states.

For those relying on generators for power supply, the consumer safety officials advised people to keep them at least 20 feet away from the home to avoid deadly carbon monoxide poisoning. Improper portable generator use led to more deaths associated with 2020's Hurricane Laura than the storm itself.

Follow NPR’s live updates for the latest on Helene and the fallout of the storm.