In the wind up all we got from hurricane Helene was rain. We had little breezy spells, but no strong wind. Between the rain from the front that moved through earlier this week and the rain from the hurricane we got over nine inches of rain. The rain was steady and slow over a long period of time so we didn’t experience any flooding right here around the house.
If you’ve watched the news or online outlets you’ve likely seen that other folks did not fair as well as we did and many have lost their lives.
Haywood County NC has been especially hard hit with flooding as has the surrounding counties. So much damage and destruction. My heart goes out to all the people who’ve suffered from Helene.
Over the years I’ve written about rain when there was too much and too little. Here’s a few comments from Blind Pig readers about heavy rain.
- Wanda in NoAla: Tipper, My daddy used to say ‘the bottom fell out’.
- Don Casada: “Fell a flood” was mentioned at our family reunion last Sunday. Around 1940, there was what Pearl Cable called a water spout in Coots Cove, on the east side of Pilkey Creek basin. It was a very localized pouring (Pearl didn’t recall it even raining at their house, less than a mile away) which completely decimated the area, washing away homes, Mae Posey’s mill, and the bridge below the mill. A dead cow was left hanging up in a tree more than ten feet off the ground. The swath it cut appears to have been close to 100 ft wide in places, leaving nothing other than rocks in its wake. This is on a feeder stream which a 60 year old feller wearing a backpack can normally jump across. In early September of 1951, there was a washout event over on the TN side where a wall of water came down the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River in Gatlinburg and carried cars downstream.
- Ken: I say it came a “young Noah” when it comes a downburst and starts flooding. Way back in the 30’s, before I was even thought about, my parents had a cloudburst and they escaped in the middle of the night with 3 of my older brothers. They lost everything.
- Ed Ammons: The first TV we ever had, had come from a TV shop in Franklin that had been flooded. The set worked just fine when we could “get a picture”. When it finally gave up, me and Harold opened it up to try to fix it and it still had mud inside.
- Dee Parks: A frog strangler and its raining cats and dogs. Gully washer. We had a Deluge. We have been having a lot of rain but we did have two sunny days here in south central PA. Now we are back to probable showers every day for what looks like 6 or 7 days. The poor town of Elicott City, Maryland had a torrent of rain gushing down its main street rising as high as the first floor of their buildings. Children, me included in days gone by, love to dance around in a summer rain and love to jump in mud puddles created from all that rain. And then there are those songs that stick in your head: Rainy Night in GA, Kentucky Rain, Raindrops Keep Falling on my head, I Love a Rainy Night (great sleeping), and one of my favorites – Singing in The Rain. Lately, though it seems like the Temptations must have been singing “I Wish It Would Rain.” Me, I’m ready for the sunshine.
- Bill Burnett: “A stump floater” & “A frog drowner” come to mind. A few days ago we had downpour, a neighbor’s garden end up in downtown Bryson City which is a mile away.
I’m praying for all those suffering from the storm.
Last night’s video: The Thread That Runs So True 21.
Tipper
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Glad to see that you are ok! I had seen on FB yesterday that a section of I40 between Knoxville, TN and Ashville, NC was washed out by the river. The flooding in that area was devastating! We had rain all day and high winds yesterday afternoon into the evening. It’s still raining here and is suppose to for the rest of the day. We need it, it’s been so dry. What remains of my garden will benefit from this.
I have friends in Mitchell county, NC and I still haven’t been able to get in touch with them. I’m still praying that no news is good news. They live in Bakersville, high on a hill in the country so I feel sure their house is ok but I don’t knuw about the town where they have a business and their families live there as well.
So happy to hear you and the family are safe.
Continued prayers for all those suffering in the aftermath of this devastating storm.
Prayers to all who have to go through hard time just to get their lives back into some kind of livable order. What a hassle. Whenever it rains I worry about my neighbors who live down closer to the Platte River in the flood plain. Even though the river is usually pretty calm it can get quite violent at times and flow out of its banks. However as far as for us, we also live on a goat bluff. I worry more about high winds than water.
I’m glad to hear that you and your family were spared any damage. ❤️
Tipper, I am so very glad that you didn’t have alot issues with the rain. Many of my family members live in the Asheville and Clyde area and we have not heard from them since early yesterday morning. Prayers for all. Many thanks to the linemen working to restore power.
glad you faired well but I am heart broken over the lost lives in other areas….so sad…praying for comfort for those who lost loved ones….here in Oklahoma nothing but a little bit of cloudy sort of cooler days, but the humidity is still too high for those of us who can not tolerate even slightly hot humid days…..I was hit by a tornado last year and it was no fun at all but I can not begin to imagine what people in the path of this hurricane went through and will continue to go through until things are somewhat normal for them again…..we call heavy rain a ‘toad strangler’…..if fair weather continues for a while in your area then you may still be harvesting and putting up stuff from the garden on into November 🙂
Please pray for the folks in North Cove, NC. Hurricane Helene has hit them real hard. This storm is reminiscent of the one in 1916 that destroyed over 50 homes in the valley. My father-in-law, Charles B. Connelly was born in North Cove in 1915.
We got rain but mostly gusty winds all day yesterday. I was waiting for a tree to blow over ‘cause they were bending so far. We got lots of tiny branches and sticks to pick up and one bigger limb fell in the woods. We needed the rain for sure, but I feel very bad for all the people that were flooded. I am praying for them.
over 40 people have died, and some people have nothing left, are you grateful, have you counted your blessings, do you care, God help God help
Happy to see your post this morning and so glad to hear your family is safe. We found the Knoxville area news last night when we started hearing about evacuation orders in Newport since we visit there so often. The area holds a special place in our hearts due to family ties.
Prayers for all of those who didn’t do so well and for those helping. Blessings to you and yours Tipper.
Palmetta pounder in the swamps of Florida.
Praying for everyone that has been hit by this storm. We have been in a drought and burn bans have covered much of our state so this rain has been a welcomed sight.
Our cousin was combining and his tractor caught the crop dust on fire because it’s so dry. Thankfully no one was hurt as the field hand saw it right away. They carry compressed water tanks on their machines. This was happening with several farmers. The rain has been a great blessing.
We had really high winds here and the power was out for several hours, but we cannot complain when so many have lost everything. May the Lord be near to them.
When I wrote my first comment, I should have said widespread destruction, it goes on for many miles in all four directions.
I think we got about 7 inches of rain that did not cause any problems for the ones in my area but did in other places. It was the wind and 70mph gusts that has done so much destruction around me, everywhere you look trees are blown over and the power lines and poles are broke. My power went out at 5am Friday morning and I have heard it could be a week before it is restored. I’m 70 years old and never saw as much destruction in my area, not even from tornadoes. Not only are our homes without power but the stores are too making it impossible to buy gas or food. I had all of my vehicles full and about 15 gals of gas in cans I keep full for my lawn mowers and a 1953 tractor that runs on gas. My nephew had one of his horses killed when a tree fell on the shed he had built for his horses.
I have a small generator that I am trying to alternate between a couple of refrigerators and freezers. I can cook on my Coleman gas stoves and thank God, I have city water and can still flush the toilet. You don’t understand that statement unless you have lived with well water!