The catastrophic Tropical Storm Helene, which continues to cause flooding and damage in the southeastern United States, was downgraded to a tropical depression yesterday. Meanwhile, Hurricane Isaac is moving through the middle of the Atlantic without posing a threat, as is the new storm Joyce.
The National Hurricane Center warned in its 2:00 p.m. local time bulletin that Helene, after making landfall as a Category 4 hurricane Thursday night in northwest Florida, continues to cause “historic and catastrophic flooding” in parts of the southeast and the Appalachian mountain region.
Helene has maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour and is located 205 kilometers south-southeast of Louisville, Kentucky, moving rapidly north-northwest at 44 kilometers per hour.
The NHC stressed that there are Emergency alerts for flash floods in the metropolitan area of Atlantamuch of northern South Carolina and western North Carolina.
Helene’s arrival as a Category 4 hurricane has caused at least 26 deaths, unprecedented flooding from storm surges, damage to infrastructure, and left more than four million people without power.
On the other hand, Joyce, which like Isaac does not represent threats on land, formed yesterday over the central Atlantic and is located 2,130 kilometers east of the North Leeward Islands. Joyce has maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour and is expected to gradually strengthen over the weekend.