Local impacts of Helene

Which is now officially Tropical Storm Helene. This storm is strengthening very quickly and is forecast to be a Category 1 hurricane, possibly as early as tonight on its way to the Gulf of Mexico. If we pull back a little bit, you can see a little more that it is forecast to become a Category 3 storm before it makes landfall on Florida's coast on Thursday. If it does indeed make landfall as a Category 3, which is a major hurricane, it would be the first major hurricane to hit the United States this year. THEN IT'S MOVING NORTH AND WEST WHERE, YES, WE WILL STILL EXPERIENCE IMPACTS IN THE FORM OF WIND AND RAIN. THIS WILL BE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AS WE'LL GO INTO THE DETAILS A LITTLE MORE HERE. THURSDAY WILL BE WINDY TO WINDY AT TIMES, BUT THURSDAY NIGHT WHEN THE RAIN WILL INCREASE AND THOSE WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE THROUGHOUT THE DAY. FRIDAY. SOME OF THOSE 30, 40, 50 mph GUSTS ARE NOT OUT OF THE WAY AT THIS TIME. SO FALLEN TREES, FALLEN POWER LINES. ABSOLUTELY A POSSIBILITY. NOT WIDESPREAD. BUT I THINK THERE WILL BE SOME SPOTLIGHT OUTAGES AT LEAST. HOW MUCH RAIN WILL FALL? WELL, WHEN WE LOOK AT THURSDAY, WE'RE EXPECTING SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 1 AND 2. MAYBE ALMOST TWO INCHES OF RAINFALL. BUT LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENS. WE'LL ADD THAT UP QUICKLY ON FRIDAY. WHEN ALL'S SAID AND DONE, A RAIN RATING OF BETWEEN TWO AND FIVE INCHES SEEMS TO BE A PRETTY GOOD GENERAL EXPECTATION, WITH SOME PLACES HIGHER. BUT THOSE, EVEN, WILL FINALIZE A LITTLE BETTER WHEN THE LANDING ACTUALLY HAPPENS. AND WE KNOW HOW BIG OR HOW STRONG THE SYSTEM ACTUALLY IS. So still preliminary, but it looks like we're going to get pretty drenched here. And some pretty strong winds, some of those potential impacts. We're talking about flooded rivers and creeks that fill up pretty quickly, especially in the neighborhoods in the area. Those patchy downed trees we talked about, and isolated mudslides in the mountains. Absolutely possible. We've got isolated thunderstorms on the way here today, this afternoon and tonight. In the mountains this afternoon. And then tonight in the north of the state to the west. A cold front is on the way. RAIN AGAIN TONIGHT AND TONIGHT. PRETTY OUT OF THE WAY. BUT YOU MIGHT HEAR SOME THUNDER AND SEE SOME LIGHTNING STRIKES WHEN WE LOOK TOMORROW. HERE'S OUR COLD FRONT. IT REALLY WANTS TO COME THROUGH, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. SO LATE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND WEDNESDAY EVENING THERE'S A LOT OF RAIN FOR CULLOWHEE, WALHALLA, AND FRANKLIN, AND IT'S JUST STATIONARY THERE AS THE REMAINS OF HELENE START TO MOVE NORTH. SO IT'S GOING TO MIX WITH SOME OF THAT RAIN. SO VERY HIGH RAIN AMOUNTS. THE FURTHER WEST YOU LIVE. ABSOLUTELY POSSIBLE. I'LL SHOW YOU ANOTHER VIEW. HERE'S THE COLD FRONT. IT'S STUCK. IT CAN'T GO AWAY BECAUSE THE WINDS OF THAT SYSTEM ARE PULLING ON IT AND BRINGING ADDITIONAL RAINFALL. ON THURSDAY, ESPECIALLY THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING INTO FRIDAY, IT WILL BE THE WEAKEST RAINFALL OR THE HIGHEST RAINFALL AMOUNT, AND THERE COULD STILL BE SOME BREAK OR SOME FLOATS AT TIMES. BUT AGAIN, BECAUSE OF ALL THE WIND AND RAIN WE'RE EXPECTING, THURSDAY AND FRIDAY ARE LIVE SUPER DOPPLER FOUR ALERT DAYS. OUR TEMPERATURES WILL ALSO DOWN TO 20° C. BY THE WAY, ON SATURDAY THE WIND SHOULD BE CALMER, MAYBE A FEW SPOKEN SHOWERS, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A POSSIBLE FOR SOME SPOKEN SHOWERS AGAIN SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY