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    • Wind and rain from Helene devastate Tennessee
    Duluth

    Wind and rain from Helene devastate Tennessee

    Eira Gwyneth Posted on

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    We’ve had two days of rain and now the dangerous risks of flooding, downed trees, power outages and arduous travel are really coming into play.

    The steady rain of a typical storm first began to penetrate East Tennessee this week, then the outer bands of Hurricane Helene, now a tropical storm centered over Georgia, blew into the southern Appalachians as the eye of the storm hit Florida. Now the remnants of the storm have made their way here, bringing the winds that caused damage across much of Florida and Georgia.

    “Fallen trees and power lines can cause power outages. Turn back, don’t drown,” warned experts at the National Weather Service office in Morristown.

    Schools are closed and football games are canceled.

    Here’s what we’re seeing in the region. This blog will be updated throughout the day and afternoon:

    There are two major weather concerns for East Tennessee today:

    • Existing flood monitoring continues today. Two to four centimeters more rain could fall.
    • Strong wind warnings were also issued for essentially the entire day. Of course there will be high gusts in the mountains, but they will also be dangerous in the valley.

    Stay tuned for warnings emerging today in the Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachians.

    Knox County has removed trees from roads, but some are still blocked

    The good news is that there are no roads closed due to flooding in the City of Knoxville, but some may be temporarily blocked by fallen trees:

    • 1400 block of Rudder Lane in Rocky Hill
    • Bardon Road/Sabre Drive near Rocky Hill
    • 7100 block of Sevierville Pike
    • 7900 block of Blueberry Road in Powell
    • Ailor Ave/N 17th Street in Mechanicsville
    • Ebenezer Road/South Peters Road
    • Foust Hollow Road near Hallsand Corum Road in Strawberry Plains is closed due to downed trees and power lines.

    Crews worked overnight to clear trees on many other roads including: Canton Hollow, Mutton Hollow Pellissippi Parkway, Huckleberry Springs/Flint Gap, Campbell Station Road, Northshore Avenue at Westland Boulevard, Porterfield Gap, Martin MIll Pike and Oak Avenue .

    If a tree is blocked near you, you can call here: The Knoxville emergency number is 865-215-4010 and the Knox County emergency number is 865-215-2444.

    Did you think you could take the kids to the library? Not today, as officials hope you choose to stay off the roads. All library locations in Knox County remain closed but will return to their regular instructional schedule on Saturday.

    Flights to and from Florida and North Carolina were canceled overnight, and many other flights to other destinations are delayed.

    The storm devastates the eastern half of the country.

    Interstate traffic runs smoothly

    All TDOT cameras in the Knoxville area show traffic on I-40 and I-75 looking completely normal for a morning commute.

    Nearly all customers still have power in our area, with two major outages: approximately 2,000 homes near Powell and approximately 1,000 homes in eastern Knox County (east of Chilhowee Park).

    TVA prepares for record water levels

    The Tennessee Valley Authority is carefully manipulating water levels in the region to avoid damaging flooding and is warning anyone who owns coastal property that water levels can rise quickly.

    TVA experts store excess water in secondary lakes and may have to release water from dams, leading to flash flooding.

    “Forecasts change quickly and our River Forecast Center team is working around the clock to manage the river system,” TVA wrote on its Facebook account.

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    Eira Gwyneth
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