Storm surge records shattered along Florida’s Gulf Coast, with hurricane gusts and flash flood emergencies sweeping inland across the southeastern U.S.
The Atlantic and Caribbean basin certainly got busy fast. We may not have gotten the full force of Helene here in south Florida but she did quite a bit for not stopping to visit. I had 5 tornado warnings in about 3 hours, one less than a mile from me. I haven't had that many in the last 10 years. Lots of flooding from Marco Island north. I saw they launched rescue boats in Ft Myers. The lake in my backyard came up a slight hill 15 feet to a concrete planter. That didn't happen with Ian or Irma. I sincerely hope this next one in the Caribbean decides to fizzle.
WOW!! Is the house OK? Did you actually hear or see the tornado? Was there thunder during these tornado warnings? I hope everything is OK other than your backyard.
Couldn't hear much beyond the tropical storm force wind and very heavy rain. No damage to the house but a screen around the outside water softener to prevent sun damage to the seals was blown down and broke. That was the only problem I had through the whole thing. For a storm that didn't actually hit here Helene was a very rude, nasty tempered b----, though what she did to others was so much worse. Another name that will be retired.
Yes, it WILL be, especially if the death toll of 43 is correct. Millions of bucks damage has been done. A tide gauge I was watching on the tide and currents website showed 13.1 feet at Cedar Key, even though an official measurement was 4 feet less than that, but was still a record.
The flooding up in the Carolinas, Tennessee and other states is beyond horrible. I saw the video of dam failures in Tennessee and North Carolina.. I think those states have more damage than even Florida does.
It's funny how it works out that way. That's the by-product of the storm slowing down, getting more time to drop the heavy rain and some of those bands consequently sitting over an area longer than some other bands. If you get stuck under even ONE of those bands for a few hours, that band can drop a ton of rain in those few hours. That is why there were either dam failures or near-failures. Even the near-failure dams had water pouring out of them. It's those failed or near-failed dams that caused/prolonged some flash flood emergencies in western North Carolina. All roads there are closed. Now, about the tide readings I talked about. Based on what Michael Lowery has seen, the photos and videos, where high-water marks are; he thinks that in spots the tides DID get to the 15 to 20 feet range the forecasters predicted. It will take survey teams time to discern this when they do their surveys this week. Yes, overall, there would be less FLOOD damage because of the fast-moving storm not having much time to drop the rain. The heaviest rain totals are in the 20-30 inch rains, and those totals are where the rain slowed down, not where the rain was in Florida. Wind damage from the Cat 4 winds was severe. Also, one report shows as many as 64 dead. Yes, Helene is gonna be retired.
I know we had bands of very heavy rain that dropped quite a lot for a brief time so I was glad that she didn't stick around like Ian did. Still wish she hadn't happened to anyone else.
It has pissed me off over the last several days in reading comments on Helene before she even got here that people in Florida deserve whatever happens for being stupid enough to live here and that they don't deserve federal dollars for help after. What are they going to say for all those in other states who have lost everything from what they think of as a 'Florida' problem? None of these storms are only a Florida problem, they inevitably cause destruction elsewhere as well, especially monster ones like Helene and Sandy who really spread it out.
One tide gauge available on the NOAA Tides and Currents site showed 13.1 feet above normally dry ground at 12:48 A.M. Friday. Based on what you said, I would feel that the reading of that gauge is likely accurate.
The Atlantic and Caribbean basin certainly got busy fast. We may not have gotten the full force of Helene here in south Florida but she did quite a bit for not stopping to visit. I had 5 tornado warnings in about 3 hours, one less than a mile from me. I haven't had that many in the last 10 years. Lots of flooding from Marco Island north. I saw they launched rescue boats in Ft Myers. The lake in my backyard came up a slight hill 15 feet to a concrete planter. That didn't happen with Ian or Irma. I sincerely hope this next one in the Caribbean decides to fizzle.
WOW!! Is the house OK? Did you actually hear or see the tornado? Was there thunder during these tornado warnings? I hope everything is OK other than your backyard.
Couldn't hear much beyond the tropical storm force wind and very heavy rain. No damage to the house but a screen around the outside water softener to prevent sun damage to the seals was blown down and broke. That was the only problem I had through the whole thing. For a storm that didn't actually hit here Helene was a very rude, nasty tempered b----, though what she did to others was so much worse. Another name that will be retired.
Yes, it WILL be, especially if the death toll of 43 is correct. Millions of bucks damage has been done. A tide gauge I was watching on the tide and currents website showed 13.1 feet at Cedar Key, even though an official measurement was 4 feet less than that, but was still a record.
The flooding up in the Carolinas, Tennessee and other states is beyond horrible. I saw the video of dam failures in Tennessee and North Carolina.. I think those states have more damage than even Florida does.
It's funny how it works out that way. That's the by-product of the storm slowing down, getting more time to drop the heavy rain and some of those bands consequently sitting over an area longer than some other bands. If you get stuck under even ONE of those bands for a few hours, that band can drop a ton of rain in those few hours. That is why there were either dam failures or near-failures. Even the near-failure dams had water pouring out of them. It's those failed or near-failed dams that caused/prolonged some flash flood emergencies in western North Carolina. All roads there are closed. Now, about the tide readings I talked about. Based on what Michael Lowery has seen, the photos and videos, where high-water marks are; he thinks that in spots the tides DID get to the 15 to 20 feet range the forecasters predicted. It will take survey teams time to discern this when they do their surveys this week. Yes, overall, there would be less FLOOD damage because of the fast-moving storm not having much time to drop the rain. The heaviest rain totals are in the 20-30 inch rains, and those totals are where the rain slowed down, not where the rain was in Florida. Wind damage from the Cat 4 winds was severe. Also, one report shows as many as 64 dead. Yes, Helene is gonna be retired.
I know we had bands of very heavy rain that dropped quite a lot for a brief time so I was glad that she didn't stick around like Ian did. Still wish she hadn't happened to anyone else.
It has pissed me off over the last several days in reading comments on Helene before she even got here that people in Florida deserve whatever happens for being stupid enough to live here and that they don't deserve federal dollars for help after. What are they going to say for all those in other states who have lost everything from what they think of as a 'Florida' problem? None of these storms are only a Florida problem, they inevitably cause destruction elsewhere as well, especially monster ones like Helene and Sandy who really spread it out.
One tide gauge available on the NOAA Tides and Currents site showed 13.1 feet above normally dry ground at 12:48 A.M. Friday. Based on what you said, I would feel that the reading of that gauge is likely accurate.