Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Helene (/hɛˈliːn/ ^ⓘ heh-LEEN) was a powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that caused widespread catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities across the Southeastern United States in late September 2024. It was the strongest hurricane on record to strike the Big Bend region of Florida, the deadliest Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Maria in 2017, and the deadliest to strike the mainland U.S. since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The eighth named storm, fifth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, Helene began forming on September 22, 2024 as a broad low-pressure system in the western Caribbean Sea. By September 24, the disturbance had consolidated enough to become a tropical storm as it approached the Yucatán Peninsula, receiving the name Helene from the National Hurricane Center. Weather conditions led to the cyclone's intensification, and it became a hurricane early on September 25. More pronounced and rapid intensification ensued as Helene traversed the Gulf of Mexico the following day, reaching Category 4 intensity on the evening of September 26. Late on September 26, Helene made landfall at peak intensity in the Big Bend region of Florida, near the city of Perry, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 km/h). Helene weakened as it moved quickly inland before degenerating to a post-tropical cyclone over Tennessee on September 27. The storm then stalled over the state before dissipating on September 29.

Helene's precursor and early stages caused flooding in Nicaragua, Honduras, the Cayman Islands, and the Yucatán Peninsula, where high winds left more than 120,000 customers without electricity in Quintana Roo. Storm surge in Florida caused significant damage from the Tampa Bay area northward. Hillsborough and Pinellas counties combined reported the destruction of at least 419 residences, major damage to at least 18,512 structures, and minor to moderate damage to 13,909 others. Several counties in or near the Big Bend suffered extensive wind impacts. Heavy crop and timber losses occurred over southern Georgia, totaling about $5.5 billion. Tens of thousands of homes and buildings suffered wind damage as far north as the Augusta area, while floodwaters entered at least 200 structures and a number of vehicles in the Atlanta area. Catastrophic flooding and more than 2,000 landslides occurred over the southern Appalachian Mountains, especially North Carolina, due to rainfall totals up to 30.78 in (782 mm) in Busick, North Carolina. In North Carolina, over 125,000 housing units and approximately 822,000 acres (333,000 ha) of timberland suffered some degree of damage. Thousands of miles of bridges and roads were damaged by floodwaters. At least 106 fatalities occurred in North Carolina, far more than any other state. Helene and its remnants also spawned thirty-nine tornadoes across the United States, one of which killed two people in Wheeler County, Georgia. Flooding also impacted Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio, leaving 12 homes destroyed and 104 others damaged in Pulaski County, Virginia, alone. More than 7.4 million customers lost electricity across the United States. At least 252 deaths and $78.7 billion in damages have been attributed to Helene, making it the second-deadliest hurricane to strike the continental United States in fifty years, after Katrina in 2005, and the deadliest overall since Maria in 2017, as well as being the fifth costliest hurricane in the United States.