Tropical Storm Helene expected to become a hurricane. How bad will wind, rain be in Macon?
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Hurricane Helene
Weather officials upgraded Tropical Storm Helene to a Hurricane Wednesday, September 25, 2024. There are hurricane watches, tropical storm watches and flood watches in effect across nearly all of Georgia until Friday, September 27.
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Tropical Storm Helene is expected to make landfall in Florida Thursday and will likely send severe weather into Middle Georgia.
The storm is expected to develop into a major hurricane, according to the Weather Channel, before arriving in Florida’s Big Bend region. Authorities and experts are already warning that the storm could bring life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds and flooding.
They are also cautioning that locally strong wind and heavy rain will push inland, meaning Middle Georgia might be in for severe weather.
The National Weather Service said Macon could see tropical storm conditions Thursday night when the storm makes landfall, with wind speeds reaching up to 25 mph. The National Hurricane Center said wind speeds could be even higher, with a 30-50% chance of tropical storm force winds in middle Georgia.
A tropical storm force wind occurs when wind speeds hit 39 mph for at least one minute.
Thunderstorms are likely in the early morning hours Friday, with the chance of showers dropping as the day continues. The weather is predicted to clear up by Friday night.
Warner Robins is predicted to have similar conditions Thursday and Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
The National Hurricane Center is also warning that middle Georgia will be at moderate risk for flash flooding over the course of the next five days, meaning the chances are at least 40%. Middle Georgia is expected to get 4 to 6 inches of rain from the storm.
Local governments were already warning residents to take precautions Tuesday. The Houston County Emergency Management Agency warned people in a Facebook post to plan for extended power outages, tie down outdoors items that could be tossed around by high winds, and clean out storm drains. The post also advised people to sign up for CodeRED, Houston County’s emergency alert system.
“Take time now to get ready,” the post said. “We are not saying go buy all the bread and milk the stores have, but certainly take a moment to review plans with your family.”
This story was originally published September 24, 2024 at 1:25 PM.
