Hurricanes hit parts of the U.S. every year. The damage can be massive and can reach places that were here-to-fore thought of as safe havens from such a disaster. One of those safe havens recently faced the worst destruction in its history owning to flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Helene. That city was Asheville, North Carolina.
What Attracts People to the Area: Founded in 1797 Asheville, a city of about 95,000 population situated in the mountains of Western North Carolina, has been a tourist magnet for many years owing to its delightful scenery and attractive year-around climate. Further, it has become more of a retirement destination for people who live in the Northeast or in the Midwest. Winter is shorter than most northern and western states; summer is usually cooler with the nights especially pleasant. Spring and autumn round out the seasons with lovely flowers in April and May, and vibrant colors in the leaves in October. It’s located inland nearly 400 miles from the North Carolina coast and about 250 miles from the Myrtle Beach/Charleston coastline in South Carolina seemingly out of range of Atlantic hurricanes. Asheville has an elevation of nearly 2,200 feet above sea level in an altiplano know to the locals as “the Land of the Sky.” Although isolated Asheville is no more than 100 miles from Knoxville, Tenn., 100 miles from Charlotte, N.C., and 200 miles from Atlanta, Ga. The lack of wetlands in Western North Carolina drives away mosquitos and other bugs that inhabit areas down from the mountains and closer to the seashore. During the Cold War of the 1960’s, companies made solid rocket fuels and other rocket parts in the area as it was believed to be safer from enemy attack. Apart from that (those plants have since moved elsewhere or closed), the only major industry in Asheville is tourism. Paper and other products made from the abundant forests are manufactured in surrounding towns, but not in Asheville. One of Asheville’s best-selling points has been its insulation from severe weather events that effect other parts of the state and the region. Although the typical annual snowfall is about 10-12 inches, any snow usually does not last long before melting and running off. Thunderstorms can occur and do so every year. So can an occasional category 0 tornado, but this is rare. Earthquakes, moderate in intensity, are also very rare. If hurricanes travel as far inland as Western North Carolina, they usually are downgraded to tropical storms just bringing some rain and wind. But then along came Hurricane Helene.
Hurricane Helene: Hurricane Helene made landfall as a category 4 hurricane about 11 PM on September 26, 2024, on the western side of Florida in the Big Bend region. It cut a swath across the deep south several hundred miles wide, and continued as a tropical storm from Georgia into South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Western North Carolina. But as a tropical storm it brought more than thirty inches of torrential rains in a short space of time to the Appalachian Mountains, and catastrophic flooding to places in and around Asheville beyond what had ever occurred in the past. When the French Broad River in Asheville finally crested at 24.67 feet, it beat the previous record of 23.1 feet dating back to July, 1916. The storm’s impact on the Asheville area was compounded by previous rainfall that left the ground soaked and the rivers already swollen. Further, the hurricane itself was strikingly wide as was its tropical storm aftermath bringing far more rain than areas in Western North Carolina could handle. It also spawned more than twenty reported tornadoes in five states mostly north of Florida. The winds were serious after Helene made landfall, but they dwindled progressively from the 140 miles per hour clocked out in the Gulf. There have been at least 230 fatalities reported as of this writing that are attributable to Helene. But in many areas of Western North Carolina the power is still out and communications are sketchy, and with a lot people still reported missing, the casualty count could wind up being much higher. The pictures of the devastation have been heart breaking. The small town of Chimney Rock, N.C., was nearly completely washed away into nearby Lake Lure. The historic portion of Asheville down near the Biltmore House was inundated by the flooding of the nearby Swannanoa River. Owing to the remoteness of the location, transportation in and out in any direction has been interrupted or greatly hampered by the storm and aftermath. At one point the only way to reach the impacted area was through the Asheville Airport. Shortages of food, fuel, sanitary water, and other necessities cropped up all over. The description of Asheville in the aftermath has been described as a “war-zone” or “post-apocalyptic”.
Climate Change Impact: Flooding has occurred in Asheville before—in 1916 back-to-back hurricanes brought torrential rain and serious flooding. Tropical storms in 2004 and 2021 brought much of the same. Why was this one so much worse? There could be several, if not many, reasons. Western North Carolina has always been a watershed for flows of humid air coming up from the Southeastern U.S. and the Gulf of Mexico. This humidity reaches the higher elevations and condenses. Properly managed this brings ample fresh water that is in most places as much as 95% pure. Asheville’s surrounding mountain ranges reach up as high as 6,000 feet in elevation, and this runoff of water settles down into the Land of the Sky finding its way out via the several rivers that traverse the area. As the entire world comes to grapple with climate change, Hurricane Helene provides a text-book example of what can happen during global warming. Owing to ultra high-water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico, and other scientific reasons, Hurricane Helene carried much more humidity than storms in previous decades. When this massive amount of humidity reached the Western North Carolina watershed, down came the torrents of water. As global warming progresses, small safe havens such as Asheville will decline in number. The impact of Helene in the area may have surprised many who live there. But if this is a “fire bell in the night” style warning, perhaps many good things can be put in place to help Asheville, and any other part of the country that could similarly be impacted, to be prepared for the next time.
Conclusions: Although I was born in Chicago, I grew up in Asheville as my family moved there when I was ten years old. I live in California now as I have for over 44 years, but I still remember Asheville and have friends that live there. The relief effort is ramping up, but it could take years and billions of dollars to bring Asheville back to the city it was. Thanks for reading this article, it was written from the heart.
Sources:
People Move to Asheville to Escape Extreme Weather. They Forgot Its Tragic History,
by Laura Paddison and Holly Yan, CNN, with Rachel Ramirez, Ella Nilsen, and Brandon Miller also contributing, October 3, 2024.
Tracking Hurricane Helene’s Destruction: Path, Storm Surge, and rescue efforts, by Leah Sarnoff and Daniel Amarante, October 5, 2024.