Summer-Fall 2024 Weather Disco Med/Long Range

[Carvers Gap]

3 minutes ago, BlunderStorm said:

As a personal anecdote I know my family in Honaker doesn't have any power.

 

I hate to hear that.  I appreciate the update.  That gives us a good idea of just how wide the effects of Helen have been.   Has anyone heard from @Daniel Boone?  I know we have some other posters in that area.   TRI definitely had a lot of wind damage today in the form of downed trees.

[Carvers Gap]

6 hours ago, John1122 said:

 

You all got hammered, man.

[Carvers Gap]

For NE TN, SW VA, W NC....this is going to end up being a benchmark, historical event.  There will be high water marks for this that will be found 100 years from now, and people will be amazed.  For me, just hearing the high winds overhead will be a memory.  I knew when I saw the radar go yellow, orange, and red over NE TN(northeast of I-26) this morning that trouble was brewing.  As noted earlier, it was just too much.  The original Roan Mountain floods from a few years ago were warm rains hitting deep snow on top of the mountains.  It really was two events releasing water at the same time - rain and melting snow.  This event was like three - the PRE, the water from NC, and the intense, tropical downpours this morning on the West slope of the Apps.  Flood warnings were posted in the Foothills pretty quickly today.  I was thinking that the actual event(Weds to Friday) looked like one of those atmospheric river events that hits out West.  

[Carvers Gap]

And yes @fountainguy97(you broke the news here), the Unicoi sheriff is quoted in a WJHL article as saying the I-26 bridges are a total loss.  That means both I-26 and I-40 into North Carolina are now likely closed.  Whew.  

[dwagner88]

There is a tremendous amount of infrastructure damage. I shudder to think what traffic will be like on roads like US64 without I-40 and I-26 available to trucks. I've just seen a picture of I-26. It's going to be a while before we get even the major roads back to normal. Much less the countless smaller roads with slides and washouts.

[Carvers Gap]

So, are there any bridges left over the Nolichucky in Unicoi or Lamar?  I was looking to see if 26 could get re-routed through town.  I think all of those bridges are gone.  Unless the Jackson Love bridge is still standing(and not sure that it is), there are several communities that are cut off and will have to go to North Carolina for supplies?

[dwagner88]

5 minutes ago, Carvers Gap said:

So, are there any bridges left over the Nolichucky in Unicoi or Lamar?

SR81, SR107, and I-26 are all gone. Not sure about any others. I imagine all will need to be inspected for scour damage even if they are still standing.

[Windspeed]

I wonder how 421, 321, 19E-221, 25, 181 and 441 have all faired. With the interstates closed, it looks like those are going to be the only direct major routes through the mountains to NC for now.

[Carvers Gap]

15 minutes ago, dwagner88 said:

SR81, SR107, and I-26 are all gone. Not sure about any others. I imagine all will need to be inspected for scour damage even if they are still standing.

Even downstream, the bridges are gone - are there any bridges over the Nolichuckey which survived even downstream?  I think one would have to go over Unaka Mountain to get to the next bridge from Erwin/Unicoi.  People on the east bank are cut off from the rest of Tennessee in large part.  Hopefully they can get a temporary bridge installed like the military uses.  That is going to be a really pressing need almost right out of the gate.  During winter when the mountains gets snow on them, they(folks living on the east side of the river) won't have a lot of options to go to North Carolina.

[fountainguy97]

37 minutes ago, Carvers Gap said:

So, are there any bridges left over the Nolichucky in Unicoi or Lamar?  I was looking to see if 26 could get re-routed through town.  I think all of those bridges are gone.  Unless the Jackson Love bridge is still standing(and not sure that it is), there are several communities that are cut off and will have to go to North Carolina for supplies?

Jackson Love was still up as night fell. Of course that doesn't tell the whole story but theoretically there is a route down I-26 and detour down Jackson Love through town and back to I-26. 
 

thankfully the I-26 bridge is not on the south side of exit 40.
 

I have some jaw dropping footage over that bridge from lunchtime.

[1234snow]

Roan Mountain is a TN watershed and WhiteTop in Damascus is Virginia.  When Helene came through this morning it dropped a lot of rain right on the west slopes.  Those rivers were already slammed and there was very little downsloping this morning.  It was the straw that broke the camels back.  Those 4-6” of rain here (on very dry ground) caused a lot of problems on their own before the NC waters got here.  For example, we already had flooding in Kingsport on Wednesday and Thursday.  When Helen came through today it set up shop NE of I-26z.  With rivers already full in TN...the NC waters of the Watauga, Nolichucky, and French Broad were hitting greased skids.  The Holston watershed is out of its banks due to the North Fork and South Forks originating in Virginia.  These were loaded NC rivers hitting streams which already were flooding due to the PRE, and then they got hit again this morning with more rain.  So, really three events (Weds/Thurs TN PRE rains, NC torrential rains, and TS rains in TN today) along with high winds hampering water rescues...created the tempest today. 

Tuesday had heavy rains as well in Scott County from the tornado warned storm that hit Kyle’s Ford. Just all around a perfect storm and generational storm.

[John1122]

Went to Knoxville this evening hoping to have power went I got home. No such luck. There was tree damage down 75 to around the Anderson County border. I think the path the storm ended up taking, further east/north than depicted, caused the wind to be excessive here. 

The rain had stopped earlier but once I got back to Campbell County it had started back. It's raining moderately right now and has rained .3 inches since I'd left. Gonna end up around 3 inches here today by midnight. 

That's gonna be about seven inches this week but over several days, that's not enough to cause flooding issues here. 

[Matthew70]

I’m glad to hear everyone on this forum is safe & avoided major damage.  The damage is so wide & far reaching & significant.  I shudder at what insurance rates will do.  Many have no insurance & in FL it’s almost impossible to get insurance.  Infrastructure is already in bad shape across the country.  Where is the $$$ going to come from to rebuild.  More added to debt.  Sigh.  Don’t look now but there is the possibility of another storm in the gulf the first week of October. Let’s hope that’s a no go.  

[Matthew70]

This is Damascus.  I grew up around that place.  My cousin is part of EMT there  & has sent me videos of some of their rescues. Heartbreaking to see all these homes loss & property. 

[Daniel Boone]

3 hours ago, Carvers Gap said:

I hate to hear that.  I appreciate the update.  That gives us a good idea of just how wide the effects of Helen have been.   Has anyone heard from @Daniel Boone?  I know we have some other posters in that area.   TRI definitely had a lot of wind damage today in the form of downed trees.

Alot of wind damage here. Numerous tree's down, electrical outages. Large trees were uprooted on and around my Property. Next door neighbor had a large 3 ft dia tree fall onto their house. It came through the ceiling into their Kitchen. Thankfully they were in another room. A Storage building was crushed at my neighbor's on the other side of my home. Large limbs and a medium sized Walnut Tree was downed in my back Lawn.

   Flooding occured as well although, fortunately not severe as much of the intense Rain bands missed the County. A general 5 day Total of 6-9 inches County avg.. 

[Greyhound]

Nolichucky Dam - imminent failure per warning

[1234snow]

Seeing reports of up to 100k people without power in NE TN and SW VA.  [mention=6441]1234snow[/mention], you all have power?

Still don’t have power. I came to Bristol to watch the VT game

[1234snow]

My 100 year old Oak tree completely uprooted today. Unfortunately it went on the neighbors house. Thankfully they are okay.

[Bigbald]

26 minutes ago, Matthew70 said:

I’m glad to hear everyone on this forum is safe & avoided major damage.  The damage is so wide & far reaching & significant.  I shudder at what insurance rates will do.  Many have no insurance & in FL it’s almost impossible to get insurance.  Infrastructure is already in bad shape across the country.  Where is the $$$ going to come from to rebuild.  More added to debt.  Sigh.  Don’t look now but there is the possibility of another storm in the gulf the first week of October. Let’s hope that’s a no go.  

Not sure how an insurance company could ever stay in business with exposure to the rapid intense gulf hurricanes that are getting to be commonplace.  State Farm pulled out of Florida like 20 years ago, they would be wise considering other drastic measures.  None of them are very profitable enterprises right now.  I think Progressive finally got back in the black after 2 or 3 years of loses.  

 

[Neals]

Newport got hit hard. I don’t think Cocke county will have running water for a month. We are in bad shape. 

[Carvers Gap]

Anyone know anything new about the Nolichuckey dam failure possibility (see WJHL)?  They had listed failure as imminent late last night.  I haven’t seen an update....

[Greyhound]

Anyone know anything new about the Nolichuckey dam failure possibility (see WJHL)?  They had listed failure as imminent late last night.  I haven’t seen an update....

Just saw this



.

[John1122]

Left rain, fog and 62 degrees back home as I headed to Daniel Boone HS. It's sunny and 75 here just south of Johnson City. Hopefully this helps the water receed and with recovery efforts. 

Was wondering if they were going to have to call the game off permanently with all the issues in the area but I guess DB isn't around the severe flooding. 

[jaxjagman]

Would be wild to feel the effects of three tropical systems here in one season,we rarely feel much effect here from one when ever

2. Western Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico:
An area of low pressure could form over the western Caribbean Sea in 
a few days.  Environmental conditions are expected to be conducive 
for additional development thereafter while the system moves 
generally northwestward, and a tropical depression could form during 
the middle to latter part of next week as the system enters the Gulf 
of Mexico.
* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...near 0 percent. 
* Formation chance through 7 days...medium...40 percent.

[Knoxtron]

Ended up just over 6" of rain from Thursday till now, currently non-stop heavy mist at 59°. 

 

Thankfully we missed the winds on the southern plateau (Max gust at home of 25mph). 

[Matthew70]

1 hour ago, jaxjagman said:

Would be wild to feel the effects of three tropical systems here in one season,we rarely feel much effect here from one when ever

2. Western Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico:
An area of low pressure could form over the western Caribbean Sea in 
a few days.  Environmental conditions are expected to be conducive 
for additional development thereafter while the system moves 
generally northwestward, and a tropical depression could form during 
the middle to latter part of next week as the system enters the Gulf 
of Mexico.
* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...near 0 percent. 
* Formation chance through 7 days...medium...40 percent.

I can not imagine another tropical system coming thru here.  It would be beyond catastrophic with more rain falling on these saturated grounds. 

[fountainguy97]

This is a mass casualty event here in Erwin. 39 people missing. Not a single found.  No telling how many others unaccounted for. 
 

We have people calling/asking if we have seen people. Reports of bodies being found in trees... 

The police department estimate water rose over 30ft.  There are caskets laying around the river. 

[Matthew70]

This is going to be a long recovery.  Bridges & roads will take a long time to rebuild.  The dams & water plants will take even longer. 

[Matthew70]

Erwin also lost their hospital.

[Carvers Gap]

2 hours ago, John1122 said:

Left rain, fog and 62 degrees back home as I headed to Daniel Boone HS. It's sunny and 75 here just south of Johnson City. Hopefully this helps the water receed and with recovery efforts. 

Was wondering if they were going to have to call the game off permanently with all the issues in the area but I guess DB isn't around the severe flooding. 

Ha, we were just in that exact spot!