Tropical Storm Helene is headed towards Florida and surrounding states including Georgia can also expect weather disturbances including heavy rainfall and potential flooding throughout the course of the week.
For current watches and warnings from the National Weather Service, click here.
Further NWS weather advisory information is available for metro Atlanta and Southwest Georgia.
The Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA) has information on how to secure property and more ahead of tropical storms, read more here.
For more information about the storm, follow this blog or GPB.org/Storms for updates.
Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 3 p.m.
GEMA held a press conference to give the state of Georgia’s first official response to Tropical Storm Helene. GEMA Director James C. Stallings led the conference with a few updates on the storm and how the state is preparing to respond to the storm.
“GEMA and Homeland Security is actively monitoring Tropical Storm Helene’s forecast and working with state and local partners to ensure that resources are available when needed,” he said. “We have prepositioned response teams and equipment to quickly address emergencies as they arise.
Stallings shared that Gov. Brian Kemp has issued a state of emergency for all Georgia counties.
“That makes the state resources available to all local governments and entities within the storm’s potential impacted area,” he said.
Tropical Storm Helene is expected to intensify quickly into a major hurricane tomorrow morning and become a major hurricane at Category 3 or stronger by Thursday.
“Heavy rainfall will begin across Georgia as soon as Wednesday night into Thursday morning,” Stallings said. “Heavier rain will start to overspread the state throughout the day and on Thursday. The heaviest impacts for us will be in Southern Georgia and we expect those to enter the state early with heavy rain and strong wind.”
He explained how this storm is very different than the most recent Hurricane Debby which he says was “a very slow, heavy rain event.”
“This is going to be a fast moving wind event with rain and so we anticipate a very different response,” he said.
Georgians in certain parts of the state can possibly expect high force winds, down tress causing power outages, flash flooding, tornadoes, and more. North and Central Georgia can expect to see major impacts as early as Friday morning to Friday afternoon.
Stallings encourages those wanting to stay up to date with information to follow official GEMA social media accounts.
Tuesday, Sept. 24 at noon
Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper issued a statement urging farmers and producers to prepare for the severe weather coming from Tropical Storm Helene.
“Our team at the Georgia Department of Agriculture is closely monitoring the development of Tropical Storm Helene in coordination with GEMA and other state agencies,” Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said. “To Georgia farmers and producers in the potential impact zone – now is the time to prepare and make a plan to keep your family and your farm safe. As the storm approaches, we urge all Georgians in its path to remain vigilant and follow a trusted news source for updates.”
Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 11:30 a.m.
The National Hurricane Center provided an update with the latest news on what is now Tropical Storm Helene. NHC Deputy Director Jamie Rhome says the storm has acquired enough organization to be classified a tropical storm instead of being classified a Potential Tropical Cyclone No. 9.
He explained the storm will approach the Florida peninsula as a major storm on Thursday.
“It is going to be a big storm — and by ‘big’ I mean not intensity; I mean size,” he said. “And big storms cause big problems.”
Rhome says those in states like Georgia, South Caroline and Alabama can expect more updates on the storm in subsequent updates.
In the excessive rainfall outlook, he says surrounding states, including Georgia, can expect to receive heavy rainfall and potential flooding.
“We could see a potential big rain event unfolding for you.”
Monday, Sept. 23
The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine, a disturbance located over the northwestern Caribbean Sea and headed into the Gulf of Mexico. The organization forecasts over the next seven days that the weather system has a 90% chance of becoming a tropical storm and, potentially, a hurricane.
If that happens, its name will be “Helene.”
As of Monday, Sept. 23, the National Weather Service reported the system, southwest of Cuba, is moving toward the north near 6 mph (9 km/h). A northwestward motion is expected on Tuesday and Tuesday night, followed by a faster northward or north-northeastward motion on Wednesday and Thursday.
“On the forecast track, the center of the system is forecast to move across the northwestern Caribbean Sea and into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico during the next couple of days,” the agency predicted. “Maximum sustained winds are near 30 mph (45 km/h) with higher gusts. Strengthening is expected during the next few days, and the system is forecast to become a hurricane on Wednesday and continue strengthening as it moves across the eastern Gulf of Mexico.”
A map of the potential storm cone (see image above) predicts that the center of the cone will cross the Florida panhandle through the center of Georgia, potentially bringing heavy rains and strong winds on Thursday and Friday.
