Hurricane Helene and Climate Change

And more storms on the way

Three named (Isaac, Joyce, Kirk) and two potential tropical systems in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico show this hurricane season has no intention of slowing down.

Before we get into the very active basins, I want to share a bit about my family’s experience with Helene, and the political toxicity that leads to disasters like what is unfolding in Tennessee and North Carolina.

Hurricane Helene

While forecasters will continue to debate whether Helene was a Category 3 or 4 storm at landfall, the real impacts are being felt hundreds of miles from the Florida coast.

Large swaths of Tennessee and North Carolina remain underwater today, nearly four days after the storm’s landfall in Florida’s Big Bend.

Helene maintained tropical depression strength as it looped over Kentucky this weekend, exacerbating the already life-threatening deluge.

My sister moved from Maine to Greeneville, Tennessee earlier this year. She lives downriver form the Nolichucky Dam – a 110-year-old structure not built to withstand hurricane winds and rain.

The aging dam hasn’t even been inspected since 2020, even though it’s scheduled for inspection every two years, and the results of the inspection don’t state the condition of the damn at the time of inspection.