The name Helene will likely join Charley, Katrina, Sandy, Harvey, Irma, and Ian in retirement from the list of storm names as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) begins to assess what has been another active hurricane season.
The NOAA announced that Helene was “the deadliest hurricane to hit the continental U.S. since Katrina in 2005,” according to preliminary data. Making landfall on Sept. 26 as a Category 4 hurricane, it caused more than 150 direct fatalities, most of which were across North Carolina and South Carolina.
It also brought catastrophic storm surges and flooding to the Florida Gulf Coast and western North Carolina….