A storm system that wasn’t even a tropical storm was swirling off the coast of the Carolinas on Monday, with forecasters calling “historic rain” totals that fell short of last month’s Tropical Storm Debbie.
Even with tropical-storm-force winds of more than 39 miles per hour, Helen technically fell short of becoming the eighth named storm of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season. As with the typical storm system in the United States, the storm’s energy came from interacting air masses rather than from warm, moist air rising over the ocean.
But despite the name, the risks are the same. It produced significant impacts Monday, with life-threatening flash flooding in parts of southeastern North Carolina and winds up to 60 mph along the coast, National Hurricane Center forecasters said Monday afternoon.
Flash flooding continued Monday afternoon as more than half a foot of rain fell in southeastern North Carolina since midnight. Forecasters warn that significant flash flooding will continue and an additional four to eight inches of rain could fall in the afternoon.
Tropical Storm Debbie brought over a foot of rain to parts of the Carolinas in August, inundating vehicles and endangering waste sites. Forecasters are not expecting much rain on Monday. But by late afternoon, some places like Sunny Point, NC had already received nearly 15 inches of rain, the upper end of North Carolina’s total during Debbie.
Carolina Beach, NC, saw 18 inches of rain since midnight, on top of the 11 inches that fell in the coastal community during Debbie. Forecasters in Wilmington, NC called the chance of rain in just 12 hours a one-in-a-thousand-year event.
Schools in New Hanover County, which were under a flash flood warning Monday afternoon, issued an early evacuation and canceled classes at Carolina Beach Elementary School, a couple of blocks from the beach. All schools in neighboring Brunswick County canceled classes Tuesday.
WECT, the local Wilmington television station, He showed the scenes Cars and cargo vans got stuck in the flood waters and the road was closed in the area. Several roads collapsed or partially collapsed in Brunswick County on Monday, according to records. Shared on Facebook by the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office.
Brunswick County government offices were closed Monday as a state of emergency was declared. Officials in Southport, NC, about 30 miles south of Wilmington, closed roads to all inbound traffic and told residents. Accommodation on site at their homes or places of work, according to the city’s Facebook posts.
Important things to know
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Most of the rain will fall near or north of the storm’s center, with totals of four to eight inches and some areas in North Carolina nearly 10 inches.
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The storm system is expected to slowly move inland overnight as rain continues to spread across North Carolina. On Tuesday, the remnants of the storm will move into Virginia, bringing the potential for some flooding rain across the commonwealth by Wednesday morning.
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As the storm neared land, its winds weakened below tropical-storm-force (39 mph or higher), prompting the hurricane center to issue tropical storm warnings along the coast.
A typical storm system moving across the United States will gain its energy from the interaction of cold and warm air masses, which forecasters believe is happening this morning along the Carolinas coast. A tropical cyclone, like a tropical storm or hurricane, derives its power from warm, moist air rising from the surface of the ocean.
Sarah Ruberg Contributed report.
