Sixty-six years to the date that Helene caused widespread, catastrophic flooding in western North Carolina, another Helene caused damage in our state.

That Hurricane Helene brushed by our coast on September 27, 1958. It technically never made landfall, as the eye of the storm got within 20 miles of Cape Fear. 

Winds around the eye of that Helene were estimated at 140 mph. The Saffir-Simpson scale was not used at the time, but that would make this Helene also a Category 4 hurricane.

The strongest winds stayed off shore, but National Weather Service records show gusts over 100 mph were reported from Little River, South Carolina to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Some homes and small buildings were completely destroyed by the wind. 

The World Meteorological Organization maintains the list of names used for storms each hurricane seasons. There are six lists that are rotated through every six years. When a storm causes widespread and costly destruction, that name is typically retired from the list.

Based on the devastation we are seeing in western North Carolina and other parts of the southeastern United States, it is a near certainty that we will never have another storm named Helene after 2024.

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