Helene Is En Route; Make Preparations Now

Good morning East Tennessee! Wanted to give you the latest with our weather expectations today through Friday. As we saw through the day yesterday, last night, and into this morning, heavy rains continue to persist across portions of the area. This is all being driven by a low pressure system just north and west of the state, with a cold front extended south of the feature through West Tennessee. It has stalled out, forcing numerous rounds of rain to develop and persist locally. Many locations (especially across the foothills and smokies) have already picked up significant rainfall, with a few reports over 3 inches. ​

Our next wave of activity will build in later today, when the heaviest rainfall amounts are expected. Current hurricane Helene is expected to make landfall across the northern panhandle of Florida, then being drawn north through the Deep South and towards the Tennessee Valley. This will bring a renewed threat of flooding on top of the already saturated soils. At this time, we are looking for an additional 2-4" with 3-6" possible in the foothills and smokies- *these are not snowfall accumulations either*. Please be mindful of the heavy rain expectations and make proper preparations for them, especially if in flood prone locations. ​

In addition to the heavy and persistent rainfall over the next 36 hours, winds will begin picking up through the day as well. Particularly, as we get into this evening through Friday morning (with the approach of Helene) wind gusts could be in the 35-50 mph range. For the higher terrain, some locations could be closer to the 70 mph wind gust range. A high wind watch has been put in place as a result of this, likely becoming a warning later today. Flooding and power outages are likely, so again, prepare now and have a plan! Stay tuned for further updates here as well as on our social media X and Facebook: @SecretCityWx

Stay safe: make plans now for potential flooding, downed trees, and power outages. Have a way to receive alerts as well, as the high wind watch likely becomes a warning tonight into Friday, along with numerous flash flood warnings that could be put into place with the rounds of rain. Don't forget to check out our video forecast below as well.

Pre-recorded for 5pm weather broadcast