How Hurricane Helene Wreaked Havoc Far From Coastal Areas

Hurricanes typically weaken once they make landfall, but Hurricane Helene defied expectations, causing devastation far inland in regions like western North Carolina. The storm, which roared ashore in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, continued to unleash torrential rainfall and destructive winds hundreds of miles inland, impacting areas less accustomed to the fury of hurricanes. This unprecedented destruction has left scientists and meteorologists trying to understand the unique conditions that allowed Helene to maintain its strength so far from the coast.

The Unusual Path of Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida with intense force as a Category 4 hurricane, but unlike typical storms that lose energy over land, Helene continued its destructive journey inland. The storm, which dumped trillions of gallons of rain across the southeastern United States, caused significant flooding and damage as far as the Appalachian region. This inland penetration is highly unusual for hurricanes, which usually weaken once they lose contact with the warm ocean waters that fuel them.

According to Dev Niyogi, a professor of earth and planetary sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, Helene’s ability to cause such devastation inland makes it comparable to 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, one of the costliest and deadliest storms in U.S. history. “Helene is 2024’s Katrina,” Niyogi remarked, suggesting that this storm will be studied for years to come.

The Role of Precursor Rains and the Brown-Ocean Effect

One of the key factors that contributed to Helene’s inland intensity was the presence of precursor rains that had already soaked the ground in many areas of the Southeast before the storm arrived. The wet soil, combined with the scorching summer heat, may have provided an additional energy source for Helene, enabling the storm to maintain its strength as it moved away from the coast. This phenomenon is known as the brown-ocean effect, where wet, warm soil acts similarly to the ocean in sustaining the energy of a storm.

Dr. Niyogi explained, “If you have wet and hot soil, then we are really priming the land to juice up a storm.” This effect was likely amplified by the extremely hot temperatures recorded in the Southeast this summer, further intensifying Helene’s destructive force. Scientists believe this process, where waterlogged soil acts as an energy reservoir, allowed Helene to keep churning over land much longer than most hurricanes would.

Helene: A Part of Global Extreme Weather Patterns

Helene is just one of many extreme weather events in 2024 that have been linked to broader patterns of climate change. According to World Weather Attribution, a global research collaboration that studies the impact of human-caused climate change on extreme weather, Helene’s behavior is being closely analyzed to understand how much of the storm’s intensity and rainfall can be attributed to global warming. Their findings are expected to be released soon, shedding light on how human activities may have amplified the storm’s effects.

Dr. Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London and a co-founder of World Weather Attribution, explained that the group is working to estimate how Helene’s rainfall and wind speeds might have differed in a world without human-induced climate change. Recent studies have shown that rising global temperatures are likely to affect hurricanes and tropical storms in multiple ways.

The Increasing Threat of More Intense Storms

As the planet warms, hurricanes and tropical storms are expected to become more destructive. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), rising sea levels will increase the risk of coastal flooding, and warmer air will allow storms to carry more moisture, resulting in heavier downpours. Moreover, storms are becoming more likely to intensify rapidly before making landfall, a trend that was clearly demonstrated by Helene.

In less than a day, Helene grew from a Category 1 hurricane to a Category 4 as it passed over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The number of hurricanes that intensify so quickly before striking the U.S. has risen significantly in recent years. While the overall number of hurricanes may not increase, NOAA predicts that a greater proportion of storms will reach Category 4 or 5 status as global temperatures rise.

The Devastating Impact of Pre-Storm Rains

Another factor that exacerbated Helene’s impact was the heavy rain that fell across the Southeast in the days leading up to the storm. In Georgia, for instance, several inches of rain drenched the region before Helene even made landfall. Dr. Marshall Shepherd, director of the University of Georgia’s atmospheric sciences program, expressed concern that these precursor rains might cause people to believe that the worst of the storm had already passed, potentially leading them to lower their guard.

These pre-storm rains also set the stage for even more severe flooding, as the already saturated soil was unable to absorb the additional rain that Helene brought. Moreover, the evaporation of this moisture during the storm likely contributed to Helene’s sustained strength, adding to the storm’s destructive power. Shepherd and his colleagues are now studying how much the brown-ocean effect played a role in this phenomenon.

A Harbinger of Future Inland Storms?

The inland devastation caused by Helene has sparked concerns that hurricanes may increasingly penetrate farther inland as climate change continues to influence global weather patterns. Dr. Shepherd emphasized the need to rethink the common perception that hurricanes are primarily a coastal threat. “The fact that we’re seeing hurricanes penetrate farther inland, maintaining their intensity as they go, is a harbinger of things to come,” Dr. Shepherd said. He suggested that this shift could be a warning for regions previously considered safe from hurricanes, such as the Appalachian region, which may need to prepare for more storms of Helene’s magnitude in the future.

Studying the Brown-Ocean Effect for Future Predictions

The brown-ocean effect, where wet land mimics the energy-sustaining role of the ocean, is emerging as a crucial factor in understanding how hurricanes like Helene can continue to wreak havoc inland. Past research has shown that evaporation over wet land helped sustain other storms, such as Hurricane Ida in 2021 and Tropical Storm Erin in 2007. This phenomenon allows hurricanes to maintain, or even intensify, their strength over land when conditions are just right.

According to Dr. Shepherd, gaining a deeper understanding of the brown-ocean effect could improve forecasting accuracy. Predicting the amount of rainfall, wind strength, and other storm attributes more precisely would allow homeowners and infrastructure managers to take better precautions before a storm hits. Shepherd also emphasized the importance of shattering the outdated notion that hurricanes are exclusively coastal hazards. With inland areas becoming more susceptible to intense storms, preparedness efforts must be adapted accordingly.

The Broader Implications of Helene

Hurricane Helene is more than just an anomaly; it’s part of a worrying trend of more extreme and unpredictable weather patterns fueled by climate change. As the planet continues to warm, the impacts of hurricanes will likely become more severe, not just in terms of their intensity but also in the areas they affect. Inland regions may need to rethink their strategies for disaster preparedness, as storms like Helene could become more frequent in the coming decades.

The data gathered from Helene’s devastation will be crucial for future studies on the brown-ocean effect and how climate change is altering storm behavior. For scientists and meteorologists, storms like Helene provide valuable insights into the changing nature of hurricanes in a warming world. As more storms exhibit unusual behavior, there is an urgent need for better forecasting models, improved infrastructure resilience, and heightened public awareness.

Hurricane Helene’s destructive journey through the Southeast was a sobering reminder of the far-reaching impacts of climate change. The storm’s ability to maintain its intensity so far inland, aided by the brown-ocean effect and precursor rains, challenges traditional understandings of hurricane behavior. As global temperatures rise, hurricanes are expected to become more intense and unpredictable, requiring communities — both coastal and inland — to rethink how they prepare for these powerful storms. Scientists will continue to study Helene for years to come, hoping to learn more about the factors that allowed it to cause so much devastation and to better predict future storms of its kind.

In the wake of Helene, one thing is clear: hurricanes are no longer just a coastal problem, and inland areas must brace for the possibility of more intense storms in the future.