Why Deadly Hurricane Helene’s Flooding Started Days Before Landfall
Moisture from Helene rode north on the jet stream, bringing unusually intense “predecessor” rains to the Southeast.
A car submerged in the floodwaters in the Buckhead neighborhood in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on September 27, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Photographer: Megan Varner/Getty Images North AmericaHurricane Helene began causing havoc across parts of the Southeast US more than a day before it made landfall on Florida's west coast on Thursday night. That includes historic rains that spread as far north as the Carolinas, priming the area for catastrophic flooding as the storm moves inland Friday and over the weekend.
Helene is currently a tropical depression churning across Kentucky, and the AP reports at least 21 are dead. The winds have dipped from a peak of 140 mph (225 kph) to roughly 35 mph. But flooding is still a major threat, in part because Helene’s rains got a head start.