Helene Death Toll Soars As Appalachians Awash In Catastrophic Flood, Extreme Florida Storm Surge Damage

Homes near Asheville, North Carolina flooded almost
to the roofs. If you look closely you see a person stranded
on one of the roofs. 

 As of late this afternoon the death toll from Hurricane Helene has soared to 25 amid the storm surges, wind, tornadoes and catastrophic flooding wrought by the wide ranging storm. 

Helene is no longer even a tropical storm, but was still producing intense flooding, some tornadoes, and gusty winds in the southern Appalachians and parts of the Midwest.  Meanwhile, the cleanup is only just beginning in Florida and Georgia. 

In Florida at least seven people died and  Gov. Ron DeSantis warned that number could rise as searchers sift through the debris of coastal communities destroyed by storm surges that in some cases reached 15 feet. 

The storm surge at Cedar Key, Florida topped ten feet, easily a record. Drone video shows numerous destroyed and washed out buildings in the town, with debris covering everything. 

The storm surge was expected to be more than 15 feet north of Cedar Key. However, there were no tidal gauges in that area to record how high the water got. There are reports of a 16-foot storm surge in Steinhatchee, Florida.  

Storm surges reached record levels of over seven feet in Tampa and Clearwater Beach. 

The action first shifted out of Florida late last night and moved into Georgia, where strong winds and intense flooding raked much of the state. Widespread flooding was reported in Atlanta. At one point, an on air meteorologist had to interrupt his report to dive into water to rescue a woman in a car flooded up to its window. 

 In Tennessee, about 50 staff and patients were stranded on the roof of a hospital as the building was "engulfed by extremely dangerous and rapidly moving water," according to Ballard Health.  High winds at first made helicopter rescues impossible, but later in the afternoon, helicopter crews had managed to retrieve everyone on the roof.

 Large sections on Interstate 40 in the Great Smokey Mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee were closed by mudslides. 

Photos on social media showed water reaching the roofs of some homes in and near Asheville. Rainfall totals neared 20 inches over the past few days in some spots.  

At least nine tornadoes spun out of Helene, mostly in North Carolina and Virginia. A particularly strong one destroyed buildings and injured at least 15 people in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Tornado warnings from Helene were issued for places as far north as southern Ohio. 

Screen grab from WxChasing video shows extreme
storm surge destruction in Cedar Key, Florida. 

There's really too many instances of destruction to describe. In addition to the rising death toll, Helene has surely caused many billions of dollars in damage. It will probably be the most expensive United State disaster this year. 

What was Helene has merged with an upper level low and is still producing flooding rains and gusty winds through a wide area from Missouri to Indiana to North Carolina. The wind and rain should subside gradually over the next couple days.  

The tropics have gotten quite active. In what had been a quieter hurricane season than some experts anticipated, Helene introduce at least a mini-barrage of storms. 

Luckily, two that have formed do not appear to pose much danger. Hurricane Isaac, way out in the Atlantic Ocean about half way between Virginia and Portugal, has winds of 85 mph. It will soon move northeastward into colder waters in the middle of nowhere and slowly die.

Tropical Storm Joyce with top winds of 50 mph growing more organized far northeast of the Windward Islands. This storm is expected to run into a buzzsaw of dry air and hostile upper level winds and will weaken as it curves northward away from any land threats.

Another disturbance having recently moved off the African coast, is moving westward over the eastern Atlantic and could develop, maybe. 

The ominous threat is a possible new tropical storm that could form in the Caribbean or southern Gulf of Mexico next week. Gawd knows what that will do.

 Videos:

Asheville, Nor....   Click on this link to view or if you see the image below, click on that. 

A daring rescue of a man and his dog from a sinking sailboat in the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Helene raged. Again, click on this link to view or click on image below if you see it. 

Jumpy video, but scary. Video taken by one of the more than 50 people stranded on a Tennessee hospital roof by swift water from a flooding river. Click on this link or click on image below if you see it.