Weakening Helene still punching across the South

(The Center Square) – Hurricane Helene is now a tropical storm but will cause weather woes across the South on Friday, forecasters say.

The storm made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend around 11:10 p.m. Thursday and quickly made its way into Georgia spawning tornadoes, wind and heavy rain. The Appalachian mountains were braced for river flooding and images out of the Asheville, N.C., area overnight confirmed significant damage from the very wide storm.

Two Georgians lost their lives when their Wheeler County mobile home was picked up by a tornado, according to Savannah’s WTOC.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said two people died in that state. A falling sign killed one person, while another died after a tree fell on their home.

More than 1 million people are without power in Florida, according to PowerOutage.US, which tracks power outages across the country. In Georgia, 936,000 are without power; in South Carolina it’s 849,000; and in North Carolina it’s 264,000.

The National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Ga., said Friday things may have seemed “quiet” overnight. However, there are still some concerns, including an additional 2 to 4 inches of rain. Flash flooding is causing problems in Atlanta. Emergency personnel evacuated an Atlanta apartment complex by boat early Friday morning, according to WSB-TV.

The storm is producing “damaging gusty winds and life-threatening flooding over portions of the Southeast and Southern Appalachians,” according to the National Hurricane Center. Residents should prepare for long-term power outages, the agency said.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp called up an additional 1,000 National Guard troops on Friday morning to help with storm cleanup, bringing the total number to 1,500. He declared a state of emergency for all 159 counties earlier this week.

The Augusta Bush Regional Airport in Augusta reported wind gusts of 82 mph, according to the National Weather Service in South Carolina. The storm prompted tornado warnings in the Myrtle Beach area, according to the South Carolina Emergency Management Division.

Central North Carolina and parts of South Carolina are under a tornado watch until 6 p.m. on Friday, according to the National Weather Service in Raleigh. The peak winds across the state were as high as 67 mph in Greensboro, the agency said.

“Conditions will rapidly deteriorate this morning as strong gusty winds, an increasing tornado threat, and scattered heavy downpours overspread central NC through the mid-afternoon hours,” according to its Facebook page.

Eastern Tennessee is also experiencing the remnants of the hurricane. Some areas already hit by heavy rains earlier in the week are experiencing flooding, according to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.