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Informational Briefing for Tropical Storm Helene
September 26, 2024
Summary:
Current projections expect wind speeds topping out at approximately 40 mph and anywhere from 2-4 inches of rain. Rain will start Thursday evening and go into Friday morning. As Helene moves through our area we will be on the east side of the storm increasing the chance of tornadoes. The most likely chance of a tornado will be Friday morning, and at this time the risk is still expected to be low. As updates progress the storm appears to tract WEST away from South Carolina as it approaches. The farther west the storm tracts the lower the chances of Florence receiving any significant wind or rain will be. With the current projections the effects from Helene on Florence are expected to be minor to mild with the only concerns being a hard change in Helene’s trajectory or a tornado being spun from the east side of the storm. The remnants of Helene should be out of our area by Friday afternoon.
Summary:
Current projections expect wind speeds topping out at approximately 40 mph and anywhere from 2-4 inches of rain. Rain will start Thursday evening and go into Friday morning. As Helene moves through our area we will be on the east side of the storm increasing the chance of tornadoes. The most likely chance of a tornado will be Friday morning, and at this time the risk is still expected to be low. As updates progress the storm appears to tract WEST away from South Carolina as it approaches. The farther west the storm tracts the lower the chances of Florence receiving any significant wind or rain will be. With the current projections the effects from Helene on Florence are expected to be minor to mild with the only concerns being a hard change in Helene’s trajectory or a tornado being spun from the east side of the storm. The remnants of Helene should be out of our area by Friday afternoon.
Preparations:
Fire Department:
- Deploy storm boxes and have crew members start a rest period earlier in the day to prepare for an increase in storm-related calls throughout the night.
- In the event the storm begins to have more adverse effects, FC-2 will establish a command center at Station 1 and FC-20 will report to Station 3 to assume Battalion 2.
Utilities Department:
- Clean storm drains by hand and with a vactor/wash truck.
- Pump and discharge/suction hoses are prepared to deploy for de-watering low-lying roadways that hold water in heavy precipitation.
- Test running system generators and topping fuel as necessary.
- Continuing constant monitoring, sampling, and checking chemical feeds at the Surface Water Treatment Plant (SWTP) to ensure consistent drinking water production.
- Checking trouble areas with low-lying sewer mains and associated pump stations to minimize infiltration and reduce the chances of Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs).
Public Works Department:
- Check all inventory and equipment to ensure all is operational and verify inventory of emergency supplies.
- Inspect and secure public infrastructure as it pertains to Public Works, including storm drains and culverts, and be ready to lend the Utilities Department a hand as needed.
- Have emergency teams ready to deploy immediately after the storm passes.
The most probable time frame for Helene is from Thursday evening until mid-day Friday. By Friday morning the bulk of the storm should be gone from our area leaving just scattered storms.
Expected rainfall is between 2-4 inches during the storm.
Initial rainfall is expected to be mitigatable during the storm. Into the weekend and next week expect our rivers and creeks to rise, but not to hit flood stages. Lynches River is currently at 7 feet and does not enter the flood stage until 11 feet. Recent rain in the upstate and northern states have the river and creeks rising, but with current projections only localized flooding in low areas is expected.