AM Headlines: Tornado Watch until 9am Tropical Storm & High Wind Warning Significant Flash Flooding Threat Major River Flooding Big Picture: Helene made landfall around 11:10pm near Perry, FL as a Cat 4 major hurricane Currently located neat Vidalia, GA and remains a Cat 1 Moving North at 40 mph and will reach the Carolinas later this morning Key Impacts: Rainfall and Flooding Rainfall has been moderate, but tropical rain bands are beginning to increase which means intensity = rising Additional Rainfall: 3-6 inches with the highest totals for the mountains Flash Flooding: already occurring and only going to get worse River Flooding will extend through next week Resovoirs along the Catawba River at risk of of breaching Duke opened 5 dams at Oxford Dam Major Flood forecast for Catawba River @ Lowell Historic Flood Pools for Lake James and Lookout Shoals Wind Threat Gusts are starting to pick up 30-35 mph Strongest gusts arrive by daybreak 50-60 mph, Mountains up to 80 mph Downed Trees Widespread Power Outages Tornado Threat Tornado Watch until 8am for areas near and east of I-77 Beginning to see some rotation moving across the Midland Timeline of Peak Impacts: Now through 12pm Helene’s Core will pass west of the region by mid-morning Highest risk of flash flooding, tornadoes and wind damage Friday PM Winds will begin to settle, but river flooding will remain a concern Weekend Calmer and quieter River levels will hit moderate to major flood stage