Updated Report on Helene as of 5:45pm EDT

The hurricane has intensified as expected and, at landfall, should be a Cat 4 storm. If you live between the coast and I-10, I urge you to shelter as if this was a tornado. That means the middle of your home, lowest floor, preferably in a bathroom rather than a hallway. The preference for the bathroom is because of the pipes reinforcing the walls and the ability for the children to be in the bathtub. 

The map below is in Eastern time. 

5pm: pressure is 951 mb with sustained of 130 mph with gusts to 155 mph. The gusts are equivalent to an F-3 intensity tornado on the Fujita Scale. The brown area on the map is the width of the sustained winds of 75 mph or stronger. 

In southern Georgia at 2am, the sustained winds are forecast to be 105 mph with gusts to 125 mph!! From the air, once this is over, it is going to look like a lawn mower went through the region. Because of the earlier rains plus the current rains, trees will topple in astounding numbers. Power will be out for days. 

Damaging winds will continue as far north and east as Atlanta and I-20 east of Atlanta. 

The storm surge will be devastating.

Below is a radar image as of 5:35pm. The hurricane is moving toward the north to north northeast. 

Red polygons = tornado warnings and green polygons = flood warnings. 

This is the 5-day rainfall forecast beginning at 8pm Eastern time this evening (it does not include rain that has already fallen). More than 13 additional inches are possible in the mountains!

In addition to the catastrophic flooding, there could be flooding in the Ohio and parts of the Tennessee River Valleys. However, the flood potential in those areas will be tempered a bit by the ongoing drought or dry spell (depending on location). 

I will update again in about 7pm.