Helene hit Savannah with hurricane-force winds as it passed through Georgia

Hurricane-force winds toppled trees and knocked out power in the Savannah area Friday morning, even though the center of what had weakened into Tropical Storm Helene was more than 150 miles (240 kilometers) west of the city.

This came as no surprise to weather experts.

“Typically the right side of a hurricane is stronger and usually more dangerous,” Georgia state climatologist Bill Murphey said in a telephone interview Friday. “That’s exactly where you were.”

As the storm spun counterclockwise Wednesday morning, the Savannah area came into the path of strong Atlantic winds that blew unhindered onshore, resulting in some of the strongest Helene winds in Georgia.