I’m sitting at an airport bar in Dallas, waiting for a flight that will carry me to the outer bands of this hurricane. My fire/rescue district is dead center of the bad zone on this map.
It’s been a pleasant two weeks, which looks likely to be followed by some interesting days.
UPDATE: Through already-heavy rains, we made it home. We’re on station for what follows.
UPDATE: We've had one land slip with downed trees and power lines so far; the rain has continued to be heavy, meaning that the earth is saturated with water and the heavy rains/winds to come will be more dangerous. The National Weather Service is being comforting.
This will be one of the most significant weather events to happen in the western portions of the area in the modern era. Record flooding is forecasted and has been compared to the floods of 1916 in the Asheville area. The impacts from this event are expected to be greater than Tropical Storm Fred from August 2021, the mountains in 2004 from Frances and Ivan, and in Upstate South Carolina the Saluda River Basin flooding from 1949.
We plead with everyone that you take every single weather warning very seriously through the entirety of this event as impacts will be life-threatening and make sure to have multiple ways to receive the alerts. The protection of life and property is the overall mission of the National Weather Service, and we pledge to stand by the folks of the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia. We cannot stress the significance of this event enough. Heed all evacuation orders from your local Emergency Managers and go to a storm shelter if you do not feel safe at your current location.
Hurricane Helene will make landfall later this evening near the Big Bend of Florida. Significant to catastrophic, life-threatening flooding will occur along and near the Blue Ridge Escarpment. Historic flooding will be possible in this area as an additional 9-14" of rainfall will be in store. Many landslides will occur as a result, with a few large and severely damaging slope failures or debris flows are likely.
Possible hurricane-force gusts in the North Carolina mountains, northeast Georgia, and the western portion of Upstate South Carolina. 60-70 mph wind gusts possible elsewhere. The combination of strong winds and super saturated soils will lead to widespread trees down and numerous power outages.
The day has been spent in preparation, and I suppose we are as ready as we can be. Any of you who happen to be local to this region, batten down the hatches. It should be over by tomorrow evening, and then we'll start figuring out how hard it will be to put things right.
10 comments:
May God keep you safe, and also those you are called on to help.
Thank you, James. I have faith.
We arrived safely to AVL airport.
I was just looking at a similar map and thinking your place must be right smack in there. God bless you in the work you do.
Steady on and Keep Safe !
She's a monster. Stay safe.
Glad to hear you're back! I was a little worried about the trip.
LittleRed1
Good luck, Grim.
We'll be anxiously awaiting updates as long as you have communications and a spare moment to update us. And please let us know appropriate recipients for local donations afterwards. I'm done with donating through big agencies, but would be happy to donate to, say, a pastor, or to you for you to dispense as you see fit.
Great suggestion, Tex.
Hoping you won't need that swift water training, but glad you've gotten it. Praying for all in harms way, especially those in service to others.
I live about 50 miles south of Grim. Our electric utility lost power to 90% of it's customers in the upstate of SC. They say it could be multiple days before power is restored to some customers. They have to wait for the wind to die down and roads to be cleared. This was an historic storm.
Post a Comment