Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida, but it was a large storm that even though its center brushed Upstate South Carolina, the winds and heavy rains wreaked havoc for millions across the Southeast and have left over 100 deaths, with many still unaccounted for and missing.
Authorities report that Helene left at least 29 people dead in South Carolina. Thousands have lost their homes, and thousands more are now dealing with recovery and cleanup efforts to bring some normalcy after the storms. But this will take several weeks. As of Monday 11 p.m., there are still over 600,000 customers without power, mostly located in Upstate and the southern Midlands, with about 90,000 powerless customers in the Lowcountry. Power Cooperative officials say this is a rebuild mission as they deal with unprecedented damage.
The National Weather Service continues to monitor river levels, with many reaching major flood stages, like the Enoree, Saluda, Broad, Congaree, Wateree, and Catawba. As the waters travel downstream, some of these rivers will increase their levels, and those at moderate levels might jump to major flood levels in the coming days.
The National Weather Service in Columbia, South Carolina, is asking residents and cleanup crews to please use caution if they work or live near a river or other swollen body of water. Floodwaters can easily conceal various dangers; do not walk or swim in them. If you encounter a flooded roadway, remember to turn around, don't drown, and do not drive around barricades. Many of the area rivers remain flooded today and likely through the week.
The forecast
Helene's remnants, which have been caught up with an upper-level low sitting over the Tennessee Valley all weekend and Monday, will finally move north of our area, being pushed by a system causing all that mess to finally move away. A weak cold front will allow temperatures to stay normal for this time of year. Another weak front will reinforce stable conditions as a high-pressure system will sit over our region after it crosses the area.
The highs will be in the low 80s, and the lows just before sunrise will be around the mid-60s. The skies will be partly to mostly sunny, and the winds will be calm.
How are the tropics?
The National Hurricane Center continues to be vigilant as several systems have formed and gained force. Luckily, the ones with names (there was Isaac, Joyce—losing force, and Kirk, strengthening) are all over the open Atlantic and are not expected to impact land.
The broad low-pressure area known as the Central American gyre, which typically appears during the early summer and then again during the early fall, is still active. Spinning over Central America, this broad low-pressure system often drives tropical low pressures to develop from the main broad area. There is a disorganized system that could continue to brew in the western Caribbean, which the NHC currently gives a medium chance to develop later this week. As we always remind readers, if there is no well-defined center of circulation, models will not have a good grasp of outputs. This means that one run could have a hurricane forming, and the next run of the same model could give you nothing. The atmosphere is fluid, and any change in this fluid changes the outcome. Plus, if something were to develop in the same area where Helene was born, it doesn't necessarily mean it would strengthen or move in the same direction. We will continue to monitor closely and bring you more information if this system becomes better organized.