On Thursday, Sept. 26, Helene struck Florida as a Category 4 hurricane and moved towards the Appalachian Mountains, causing loss, family displacement and destruction of land and property in the region. The hurricane has proven a scientific plight to be studied for its inland devastation and quick travel from the coast into Southern Appalachia.
Up to 40 trillion gallons of water were received in affected areas, and floods reached places where water had not touched in a century. The streamflow rate broke records with a discharge rate of 84,000 cubic feet per second, breaking the stream gauge in Embreeville, Tennessee. For comparison, in early October, the average streamflow is estimated to be between 500 and 600.
Dr. Andrew Joyner is the state climatologist with the Tennessee State Climate Office, which provides climate data and services. The office is heavily involved in hazard alleviation. In 2023, it wrote half of Tennessee’s recent mitigation plan and completed all risk and vulnerability assessments of the state.
“This event is going to be a big part of the next update,” Joyner said. When looking at Helene, the outcomes allow an in-depth study into how and why it occurred and help prepare Tennessee for future weather crises. Due to Helene, a need for new flood models, weather tracking and alerting systems and innovative climate reading efforts have risen.
“Knowing that an event like this can happen is really important as far as planning goes and future mitigation,” shared Joyner.
Striving to overcome and pioneer, the climate office will work to host their Community Resilience Academy which will focus on flooding and extreme temperatures in Johnson City and Washington County. The office is also working on building improved Mesonet stations for improved real-time, automated weather monitoring, severe weather warnings and emergency response in Tennessee.
For more information on Helene’s impact in Tennessee, visit bit.ly/tnhelene24. For more information on the Mesonet stations, visit bit.ly/TN_MesonetStory.
