Badger ventured to Linville Falls on the day that the Greenville-Spartanburg National Weather Station issued an “Urgent Message” – September 26, 2024. The warning unequivocally stated that Western North Carolina would be subject to a historic record of flooding from Hurricane Helene. Even more ominous was the comparison of Helene to the Flood of 1916.
Knowing the history of the 1916 Flood, a chill literally went down my spine when I saw the falls and read the forecast, and those memories still chill me a year later.
The most significant weather phenomenon in modern times in the Southern Appalachians became a geological event, altering the mountain landscape and the lives of hundreds of thousands in the region, including the deaths of a reported 106 persons in North Carolina alone.
The Linville River Gauge registers typically 100 cubic feet/second. On the day Hurricane Helene roared through the mountains, the gauge registered 28300 cfs, almost 30 times the normal flow – then the gauge broke. Estimates raised the cfs to 32000 cfs, based on over 30-inches of rainfall in areas adjacent to the Linville Gorge Wilderness.
Badger’s photo shows Linville Falls at approximately 3000 cfs. If one can imagine a flow 10 times what’s shown, then you have Helene.
Trying to describe this catastrophe to persons not affected by the storm has proven to be impossible. As the anniversary of the storm arrives, the memories return in full force. This is one adventure that Badger could have done without.
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