RALEIGH, N.C. (WPTF) – It’s already been nine months since Hurricane Helene carved its path through the Southeast—leaving behind memories many are still rebuilding from. State Assistant Climatologist Corey Davis says we’ve been through portions of all four seasons which has given them a pretty good idea of what these storms impacts are.
“Of course at the time Helene was most notable for the heavy rainfall, the record flooding that it produced in parts of Western North and South Carolina, the number of casualties that we had and the long term impacts that the flooding and flood damage is having. Those are all just among the worst we’ve seen,” said Davis.
Since those floods have receded they have started to see the impacts from the debris and wind damage. It’s important to keep in mind just 12 hours before Helene made it into the Carolinas it was a category 4 storm on Florida’s coastline.
“It was still packing some extreme winds (over 100mph winds) in parts of the mountains in North Carolina when it got here, and as we started getting the updates and the pictures from that part of the state we were seeing in some cases entire mountainsides that had been blown down, all the leaves had been blown off [and] all those trees had been toppled over,” said Davis.
Davis says Researcher Dr. Steve Norman is using satellite imagery to try and map where some of the worst damage has happened and the factors of said damage.
“What he’s found is that Helene was very different from the…hurricane that might hit, say the Eastern part of North and South Carolina where it might just topple every tree in the forest. In this case, damage was very localized but locally intense in some spots,” said Davis.
The results showed that certain trees fell in certain areas due to elevation, where the heaviest rain had fallen and places with the strongest winds. When Helene was first coming in, it was mainly considered a rain event until they were able to get good reports and now it’s also classified as a wind event.
“This conversation I had back at the time with Trisha Palmer, she’s a meteorologist with the weather service in Greenville Spartanburg, and it was clear to her and her office just how bad the wind damage was at the time. She mentioned it was basically like the collapsing remnant eyewall of a category four hurricane had hit the region,” said Davis.
Palmer told Davis this is like nothing any living person in this part of the country has ever seen before. You can listen to the whole Corey Davis interview at www.sfntoday.com