The flood gates on Lake Lure were opened *last night*.
The National Weather Service is literally begging people to take note, issuing warnings with severity that rival those in the lead up to Katrina.
This is a *thousand *year flooding event, at least. It's going to be catastrophic.
The #SouthernAppalachians are my happy place, the place that keeps calling me back, the place my people have been for generations.
I cannot even fathom how bad this is going to be.
@DrTCombs it’s not super crazy where i am right this minute but i’m expecting it to get wilder!
@DrTCombs I love that area and was planning a trip there in a few weeks. It's looking bad.
@DrTCombs Kid2 is at App State in Boone (adjacent to Blowing Rock). We are watching carefully.
And as bad as it is when a hurricane hits the coast (and #Helene is going to wallop the hell out of the Florida panhandle), it's many times worse in the mountains. Creeks become raging rivers in the blink of an eye. Land slips down mountains, burying entire communities. Evacuation routes get blocked. Supply lines, too--and sometimes for weeks. Communication lines go from spotty to nonexistent.
And many, many mountain folk have little to no safety net outside their immediate community.