The Southeast continues to grapple with the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Helen, which caused ferocious winds and historic flooding that killed at least 39 people.
Helen weakened Friday and became a post-tropical storm, but made landfall near Perry, Florida late Thursday with winds of 140 mph. This system was the first known Category 4 storm to hit Florida’s Big Bend region since records began in 1851.
It will continue to weaken as it snakes through western Kentucky and possibly near the Tennessee border on Saturday, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bob Smerbeck. Wind gusts of 20 to 25 mph are expected overall, with gusts of 30 to 35 mph possible in some cases. By Sunday, it will move through the central Appalachians with light winds and occasional rain.
Helen’s News: Saturday’s live updates on storm damage and death toll
“By Sunday, we’re really going to lose some momentum, which means parts of the Ohio Valley may only have 16 to 20 mph winds left,” Smerbeck told USA TODAY Friday.
Helen is expected to move through Virginia and southern Pennsylvania with moderate rain and be in the Atlantic Ocean by Tuesday.
Rain expected during cleanup efforts in central Florida and Tennessee
Showers and thunderstorms are expected across central Florida and the state’s peninsula on Saturday, but cities like Tampa Bay are still grappling with storm surge. High humidity is also expected, Smerbeck added.
“The coverage area for showers and thunderstorms looks to shrink a bit across central Florida on Sunday, but isolated storms are possible even on Sunday in areas like Tampa,” Smerbeck said.
Dry weather is expected to continue through the weekend in areas with little damage, such as central and eastern Georgia, but widespread showers are expected from Tennessee to the Appalachians, Smerbeck said.
“It’s not going to be a wall of rain. It’s going to be more of a hit-or-miss situation, but people are trying to clean up, but we’re still seeing heavy rain in the southern Appalachians.”
Helen wreaked havoc late Thursday, causing several power outages, destroyed homes and capsized boats across the storm-hit region. First responders conducted hundreds of water rescues across the Southeast as heavy rain and coastal flooding continued in West Florida.
Tropical Cyclone Helen Tracker
Tropical Cyclone Helen Spaghetti Model
Illustrations include a variety of predictive tools and models, and not all are created equal. The Hurricane Center uses only the top four or five best-performing models to make predictions.
Florida Weather Map
US Weather Watches and Warnings
National weather radar
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