Hurricane (Typhoon) — Treutlen, Georgia

2024-09-27 · Treutlen, Georgia

Event narrative

An NWS Storm Survey observed that Treutlen County experienced some of the strongest winds from Helene (> 75 MPH gusts) as it moved across Georgia. The town of Soperton had the worst infrastructure damage with numerous homes and businesses sustaining at least some damage. A furniture factory store was completely gutted by the winds, with all windows shattered, a metal roof blown off, and insulation and debris blown everywhere. There was no power for more than a week for most residents. A tree was reported down on a semi-truck on GA Hwy 29. Trees and powerlines were downed on GA Hwy 46 between Rosemont Church Road and Osceola Road and on East Railroad Ave between Stephens Street and College St. A tree was downed across Swainsboro Highway between Gillis Street and Metter Road. More trees were reported down on US Hwy 221 near Outlaw Grove Road and near GA Hwy 227.

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in the Big Bend region of Florida at 11 PM EDT. Helene moved quickly inland bringing wind gusts between 50 and 100 mph to portions of east and central Georgia. Widespread rainfall totals between 6 and 14 inches were observed in association with Helene across north and central Georgia. The highest rainfall amounts were primarily observed in portions of east-central Georgia and in the Atlanta Metropolitan area. Due to the prolonged heavy rain, numerous instances of flash flooding and river flooding were reported. The combination of strong winds and heavy rain also downed millions of trees with widespread power outages and numerous structures damaged or destroyed, mostly from falling trees. Ahead of Hurricane Helene, there were several showers/storms in the rainbands that had low-level rotation. One of these storms spawned a short-lived tornado occurred in Wheeler County during the evening of the 26th.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1219024. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.