ATLANTA – Georgians were bracing Thursday for Hurricane Helene, a massive storm with a wind field spreading out 400 to 500 miles expected to reach South Georgia Thursday night and cut a swath through the rest of the state Friday morning.
“This is one of the biggest storms we’ve ever had,” Gov. Brian Kemp told reporters Thursday afternoon during a briefing at the State Operations Center in Southeast Atlanta. “It’s literally going to affect all 159 counties.”
Forecasters expect Helene to make landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida’s Gulf Coast Thursday night as a Category 3 hurricane before moving into Georgia with hurricane-force winds of 80 to 100 miles per hour as far north as Macon.
“This is a significant rainfall and wind event across the state,” said Will Lanxton, a meteorologist with the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency.
Lanxton said Georgia could get eight to 12 inches of rain, with higher totals possible in Northeast Georgia. He said the North Georgia mountains could see “life-threatening flash flooding.”
Kemp declared a state of emergency in Georgia on Tuesday and authorized up to 500 Georgia National Guard troops to help with storm preparation, response, and recovery efforts. He said 250 troops have been deployed around the state ahead of Helene’s arrival.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden approved Georgia’s emergency declaration request, allowing federal assistance to supplement state and local response efforts.
Kemp said that in addition to the Georgia National Guard, crews from the state Department of Transportation, the Georgia Department of National Resources, state Forestry Commission, and the Georgia Department of Corrections have organized chainsaw teams to clear debris from roadways.
“If people can stay home and off the roads, that would be a big help to us,” he said.
Georgia Power has assembled 10,000 linemen to begin restoring electrical service in areas hit by power outages, and the Georgia Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs) have 8,000 more.
Kemp urged Georgians who lose power to be patient.
“It’s probably going to take us awhile to get power back going with the size of this storm,” he said.
While no Georgia residents have been asked to evacuate their homes, 215 evacuees from Florida are being sheltered at state parks.
One bit of good news is that the fast-moving storm is expected to clear Georgia by Friday afternoon, with good weather predicted for the weekend. That will help expedite the start of recovery efforts.