HUNTSVILLE — Though Hurricane Helene won’t make landfall until this evening in Florida’s “Big Bend” area, its impact will hit the Tennessee Valley today.
Helene will bring moderate to heavy rain to the area into the weekend. Forecasted rainfall through Saturday is around 2 to 5 inches with locally higher amounts from 5 to 7 inches, according to the National Weather Service Huntsville office.
A Flood Watch is in effect through 1 p.m. Friday for all of the Tennessee Valley. A Wind Advisory will be in effect beginning at 1 a.m. Friday through 1 a.m. Saturday for areas east of I-65 with gusts around 30-40 mph expected.
After making landfall, Helene is expected to track northward across western Georgia and weaken late tonight before turning more to the west and continuing to weaken Friday.
The moderate to heavy rainfall at times will result in an increasing risk for localized/flash flooding across the Tennessee Valley and bring a period of strong wind gusts up to 40 mph east of I-65.
For the latest forecast information on Hurricane Helene, visit https://www.nhc.noaa.gov.
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