Helene dumps rains on Charlotte, as mountains brace for 20” and “catastrophic flooding”

Hurricane Helene showers arrived in Charlotte Thursday morning, as the North Carolina mountains braced for up to 20” of rain and what the National Weather Service has labeled “catastrophic flooding.”

At 10 a.m. Thursday, Charlotte Douglas International Airport was under a Helene-spawned tornado warning, along with Belmont and Mount Holly in Gaston County. Radar indicated a tornado, NWS meteorologists said, but there were no confirmed reports.

“This is an unusually dangerous storm that threatens to bring catastrophic rains,” Gov. Roy Cooper said at an 11 a.m. news conference Thursday. “It can be deadly. Beware and prepare.”

Drivers should stay off roads, especially in the mountains and foothills, although even Charlotte could see flooding “despite not being in the path of the storm,” Cooper said.

“We have lost too many North Carolinians who have driven around barricades and into floodwaters,” Cooper said.

Gusts up to 50 mph are expected in Charlotte late Thursday and early Friday, NWS meteorologists said. The storm is predicted to dump 2” to 3” of rain on Charlotte, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

AIRPORT FLIGHT STATUS: Helene causing delays at CLT

The Charlotte area, Upstate South Carolina and the N.C. foothills could see “widespread downed trees, and numerous power outages (are) likely,” the NWS office in Greer, South Carolina, said on Twitter.

Tornadoes threaten the region through Friday morning, NWS forecasters said.

10,000 without power in NC mountains

Nearly 10,000 Duke Energy customers were without power in the North Carolina mountains at 11 a.m. Thursday, according to the company outage map. Most were in the Asheville and Hendersonville areas, and 1,000 were in Franklin.

Statewide, 14,000 had no power, Cooper said.

No outages were reported in Mecklenburg and surrounding counties.

ARE SCHOOLS CLOSED? Updates from CMS as Helene arrives

In the Carolinas’ mountains, “catastrophic flash-flooding is expected along numerous streams, with possibly historic flooding near the Blue Ridge Escarpment,” the NWS said on X, the former Twitter, just before 8 a.m.

“Landslides/debris flows expected through at least Friday,” the NWS said.

Shelters opened Thursday in Avery, Buncombe and McDowell counties, emergency officials said.

Thursday morning, Helene became a category 2 hurricane, “with significant additional strengthening expected before landfall in Florida,” according to a National Hurricane Center bulletin.

Helene was about 320 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, with 100 mph winds.

Charlotte airport flight delays

American Airlines issued travel alerts on Wednesday for airports in the Southeast, including Charlotte Douglas International Airport. American accounts for about 87% of all flights out of CLT.

In less than two days — as of noon Thursday — 471 CLT flights were disrupted, according to tracking site FlightAware.com.

Gov. Cooper declares NC State of Emergency

Cooper declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, activating the National Guard and deploying swift-water teams in advance of Helene.

“Helene threatens heavy rain, flash flooding, landslides, and damaging winds to the mountains and Piedmont areas of our state,” Cooper said in a statement. “Now is the time for North Carolinians to prepare, make sure emergency kits are up-to-date and pay attention to the weather alerts in your area.”

On Thursday, Cooper said Helene’s “path is wide, and its impacts will be felt far from the center of the storm.”

Charlotte officials said crews are preparing for heavy rain and strong gusts knocking down trees and limbs.

Call 911 immediately if a tree or part of a tree has fallen and blocks a road, officials said.

Duke Energy called in power line and tree crews from other states. Wind damage and flooding could delay restoring power, but its crews will do so “as quickly and safely as possible,” according to a company statement Thursday morning.

Charlotte Motor Speedway opened its campgrounds at noon Wednesday for Helene evacuees from across the Southeast. Evacuees should check in at the Camping World Racing Resort office at 6600 Bruton Smith Blvd. in Concord.

Caldwell County also declared a state of emergency. Haywood County in the mountains urged residents to prepare for possible evacuation due to flooding from Helene.

School closings

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials canceled in-person classes for the rest of the week. The district will move to remote learning on Friday, with classes to be completed asynchronously, meaning there won’t be any face-to-face instruction, according to a weather alert posted on the CMS website.

After school activities for Thursday and Friday are canceled, according to the district. Athletic events will be rescheduled.

Check The Charlotte Observer’s updates on school closings here.

This is a developing story that will be updated.

Observer staff Writers Chase Jordan and Evan Moore and Adam Wagner of The News & Observer contributed.