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Hurricane Helene (2024)

Hurricane Helene was a Category 4 hurricane at its peak, with 138 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 939 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 15 of the cities we track; the strongest was Gainesville, FL, with a modeled peak gust of 71 mph.

Peak strength138 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 4
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
15
LandfallsFirst September 27, 2024
1
Lowest pressure
939 mb

Track, wind field and cities

Select a piece of the track or a city for details.

  • Depression or weaker
  • Tropical storm
  • Hurricane, Category 1 or 2
  • Major hurricane, Category 3 to 5
  • Landfall
  • City (larger ring, stronger modeled gust)
  • Modeled wind field, 39 to 111 mph sustained (darker, stronger; orange 111 mph+)
Source: NOAA/NWS National Hurricane Center best track (HURDAT2). City winds and the wind field are modeled.

The shaded areas are where our model puts Hurricane Helene’s sustained winds over open land at 39 mph or more (tropical-storm force), 58, 74 (hurricane force) and 111 mph (major hurricane force) at some point along its track. Modeled, not measured. How we model hurricane winds

Landfalls

  1. September 27, 2024, Category 4 at 138 mph, about 45 miles from Tallahassee, FL

Modeled winds at cities (15)

Estimated peak winds for open, flat ground at each city’s center. Not measurements. How we model hurricane winds

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
Gainesville, FL71 mph58 mph84 milesSep 26, 2024, 11:10 PM EDT
Tallahassee, FL68 mph55 mph39 milesSep 26, 2024, 11:10 PM EDT
Ocala, FL62 mph50 mph108 milesSep 26, 2024, 10:45 PM EDT
Augusta, GA62 mph50 mph61 milesSep 27, 2024, 5:15 AM EDT
Jacksonville, FL59 mph48 mph114 milesSep 27, 2024, 1:45 AM EDT
Tampa, FL58 mph47 mph121 milesSep 26, 2024, 7:15 PM EDT
Savannah, GA57 mph47 mph117 milesSep 27, 2024, 5:00 AM EDT
Hilton Head Island, SC54 mph44 mph142 milesSep 27, 2024, 5:00 AM EDT
Lakeland, FL53 mph43 mph149 milesSep 26, 2024, 8:15 PM EDT
North Port, FL52 mph42 mph156 milesSep 26, 2024, 5:00 PM EDT
Greenville, SC51 mph42 mph56 milesSep 27, 2024, 8:00 AM EDT
Deltona, FL50 mph40 mph167 milesSep 26, 2024, 10:45 PM EDT
Orlando, FL49 mph40 mph173 milesSep 26, 2024, 9:45 PM EDT
Cape Coral, FL49 mph40 mph176 milesSep 26, 2024, 4:00 PM EDT
Asheville, NC49 mph40 mph72 milesSep 27, 2024, 9:45 AM EDT

What happened

Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane about 10 nautical miles southwest of Perry, Florida, around 0310 UTC on September 27 (11:10 p.m. EDT on September 26), with 120-knot (138 mph) winds and a central pressure of 939 mb.1

Storm surge reached 12 to 16 feet above ground from just west of Keaton Beach through Steinhatchee, and the Cedar Key tide gauge measured 9.30 feet above mean higher high water.1 Measured gusts on land reached 87 knots (100 mph) at Alma, Georgia, and 92 knots (106 mph) on Mount Mitchell, North Carolina.1 Rain totaled 30.78 inches at Busick, North Carolina, and preliminary estimates show at least 63 stream and river gauges passed their record flood levels.1 The French Broad River at Asheville crested at 24.8 feet, above its 1916 record of 23.1 feet, and the USGS documented over 2,000 landslides, mostly in western North Carolina.1 Helene produced 33 tornadoes as a tropical cyclone, including an EF3 in Nash County, North Carolina.1 NHC counts at least 250 deaths in the United States, including 175 direct deaths, 85 of them in North Carolina.1 NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information estimates $78.7 billion in damage.1

Sources

  1. 1. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Helene (AL092024)

Best track (25 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Sep 23, 12:00 UTCDisturbance35 mph1004 mb17.2°N, 81.7°W
Sep 23, 18:00 UTCDisturbance40 mph1004 mb17.8°N, 81.9°W
Sep 24, 00:00 UTCDisturbance40 mph1002 mb18.2°N, 82.2°W
Sep 24, 06:00 UTCDisturbance40 mph1001 mb18.6°N, 82.8°W
Sep 24, 12:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph999 mb19.2°N, 83.7°W
Sep 24, 18:00 UTCTropical storm52 mph997 mb19.4°N, 84.6°W
Sep 25, 00:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph990 mb19.7°N, 85.2°W
Sep 25, 06:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph985 mb20.3°N, 85.9°W
Sep 25, 12:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane75 mph979 mb21.1°N, 86.2°W
Sep 25, 18:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane81 mph978 mb22.0°N, 86.5°W
Sep 26, 00:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane81 mph973 mb22.8°N, 86.7°W
Sep 26, 06:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane86 mph970 mb23.6°N, 86.5°W
Show all 25