Tropical Storm Helene (2000)

Basin

North Atlantic

Dates

September 15, 2000 to September 25, 2000

Peak strength

Tropical Storm, 60 kt (69 mph)

Lowest pressure

986 mb (29.12 inHg)

Landfall

Yes

Accumulated cyclone energy

3.5

Fastest the center moved

55 kt (63 mph)

Identifier

AL122000

Radar at KEVX as it neared land, Sep 22, 12:00 UTC

The sources count different things and are not added together.

Landfall points the US agencies flagged in the best track. The nearest town is named from the site’s gazetteer, not from the report.

NOAA’s Storm Events database, the record National Weather Service offices compile months after a storm, as compiled March 2026.

Deaths

0 (0 direct, 0 indirect)

Injuries

0

Property damage

$2.4 million

Crop damage

none recorded

Events recorded

37 in 9 reports from 3 states and marine areas

State by state

What was recorded

26 tropical storm, 5 flash flood, 3 high wind, 2 lightning, 1 flood.

The Weather Prediction Center attributes 1,009 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 9.60 inches (244 mm).

WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.

From the Storm Events narratives, unedited.

The Forsyth County News reported that lightning struck and set on fire HLB Custom Cabinets at 2680 Friendship Road in Cumming. The building was completely destroyed.

Forsyth, Georgia · Lightning · Sep 22, 10:00 UTC

Excessive rainfall of eight to ten inches from Tropical Storm Helene caused considerable flooding with more than 120 homes damaged. The worst flooding was along the Sopchoppy River in western Wakulla County along County Road 375 to State Road 20, including the Indian Summers and Mount Beasor subdivisions. Approximately 50 homes were flooded. Many county and access roads were impassable and some were washed out. Several bridges on secondary roads were completely flooded. Flood waters had spilled over onto Harvey Mill and Lawhon Mill roads in Crawfordville. Nearly two feet of water covered Springhill Road. Several creeks and streams were bankfull. Storm runoff caused the Black Creek to swell and cover part of Bloxham Cutoff with a foot of water. There were only voluntary evacuations from coastal and low-lying areas. Reported by the Wakulla County EMA.

Wakulla, Florida · Flash Flood · Sep 22, 14:00 UTC

Between eight and ten inches of rain from Tropical Storm Helene inundated the county, including the city of Tallahassee. Residents from the Carriage Estates mobile home park and the Sandpebble apartment complex were evacuated when flood waters threatened. Numerous city streets, intersections and low-lying areas were closed to flooding. More than 100 homes in Leon County were flooded. U.S. Highway 90 west of Tallahassee to the Gadsden County line was closed by high water. Schools, universities and most public offices were closed. Reported by the Leon County EMA and Tallahassee Police.

Leon, Florida · Flash Flood · Sep 22, 14:00 UTC

The Haralson county 911 center reported that U.S. Highway 27 was under one foot of water just north of Interstate 20 between Waco and Bremen.

Haralson, Georgia · Flood · Sep 22, 15:18 UTC

• Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Depression25 kt · 1008 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Depression30 kt · 1008 mb
• Hurricane AlbertoNorth Atlantic · 2000Cat 3110 kt · 950 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Depression30 kt · 1009 mb
• Tropical Storm BerylNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Storm45 kt · 1007 mb
• Tropical Storm ChrisNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Storm35 kt · 1008 mb
• Hurricane DebbyNorth Atlantic · 2000Cat 175 kt · 991 mb
• Tropical Storm ErnestoNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Storm35 kt · 1008 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Depression30 kt · 1008 mb
• Hurricane FlorenceNorth Atlantic · 2000Cat 170 kt · 985 mb
• Hurricane GordonNorth Atlantic · 2000 · 26 deaths · $11 millionCat 170 kt · 981 mb
• Hurricane IsaacNorth Atlantic · 2000Cat 4120 kt · 943 mb
• Hurricane JoyceNorth Atlantic · 2000Cat 180 kt · 975 mb
• Hurricane KeithNorth Atlantic · 2000Cat 4120 kt · 939 mb
• Tropical Storm LeslieNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Storm60 kt · 973 mb
• Hurricane MichaelNorth Atlantic · 2000Cat 285 kt · 965 mb
• Tropical Storm NadineNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Storm50 kt · 999 mb
• Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Storm55 kt · 976 mb

A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.

Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.

• Tropical cyclone report, National Hurricane Center
• Every advisory and discussion NHC issued while it was live
• Wikipedia article: Tropical Storm Helene