As People Prepare for Hurricane Milton, Hurricane Helene Made It Over 400 Miles Inland. Here’s How That Compares to Other Storms
https://climate-crisis-247-bucket.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/08003333/16313103-150x150.jpgAfter making landfall in the Florida Panhandle on September 26, Hurricane Helene delivered devastating wind gusts across hundreds of miles over several days to become one of the most destructive hurricanes in U.S. history. As residents prepare for Hurricane Milton, the outsized damage from Helene was partly due to the storm’s unexpected path; Helene brought torrential rain to Asheville, North Carolina and ferocious winds to central Tennessee, far inland regions that are not used to extreme storm activity.
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While there is no official data on Helene’s storm track – the hurricane actually knocked one of the nation’s top data centers offline – it is worth looking at historical hurricane tracks to see how Helene compares. Estimating that Helene delivered sustained wind speeds of at least 39 miles per hour as far inland as Nashville – about 400 miles from the Florida coast – the storm would rank one of the farthest-reaching hurricanes in U.S. history. Barring official data, the only storms to beat Helene are Hurricane Ike from 2008, which made it 432 miles inland to Newton County, Arkansas, and Hurricane Carla from 1961, which made it 487 inland all the way to Taney County, Missouri.
To determine the hurricanes that made it the farthest inland, Climate Crisis 247 reviewed recent news coverage of Hurricane Helene and data on historical hurricane tracks from 1842 to 2022 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Tropical cyclones – storms that reach a maximum sustained wind speed of 39 miles per hour or higher – and hurricanes – storms that reach a maximum sustained wind speed of 74 miles per hour or higher – were ranked based on the distance between their farthest inland points and the coast. Inland distances were measured using distance to nearest hub calculations in GIS and historical hurricane track shapefiles from the NOAA and coastline shapefiles from the U.S. Census Bureau. Only track segments with maximum sustained wind speeds of at least 39 miles per hour were included. Hurricanes without official names were excluded.
25. Hurricane Flossy (September 1956)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 127.5 miles
- Farthest inland point: Turner County, GA
24. Hurricane Fausto (September 1996)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 129.9 miles
- Farthest inland point: Zapata County, TX
23. Hurricane Doreen (October 1962)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 130.2 miles
- Farthest inland point: Zapata County, TX
22. Hurricane Rosa (October 1994)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 130.5 miles
- Farthest inland point: Zapata County, TX
21. Hurricane Norbert (October 2008)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 130.6 miles
- Farthest inland point: Zapata County, TX
20. Hurricane Dora (September 1964)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 131.0 miles
- Farthest inland point: Ben Hill County, GA
19. Hurricane Connie (August 1955)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 136.2 miles
- Farthest inland point: Centre County, PA
18. Hurricane Diane (August 1955)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 144.7 miles
- Farthest inland point: Halifax County, VA
17. Hurricane Sandy (October 2012)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 146.6 miles
- Farthest inland point: Cambria County, PA
16. Hurricane Isaias (August 2020)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 146.6 miles
- Farthest inland point: Lamoille County, VT
15. Hurricane Carol (September 1954)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 168.1 miles
- Farthest inland point: Aroostook County, ME
14. Hurricane Michael (October 2018)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 179.7 miles
- Farthest inland point: Houston County, GA
13. Hurricane Bob (July 1985)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 187.4 miles
- Farthest inland point: Forsyth County, NC
12. Hurricane Irene (August 2011)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 187.6 miles
- Farthest inland point: Aroostook County, ME
11. Hurricane Doria (August 1971)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 190.6 miles
- Farthest inland point: Aroostook County, ME
10. Hurricane Able (August 1952)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 193.2 miles
- Farthest inland point: Stokes County, NC
9. Hurricane David (September 1979)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 206.3 miles
- Farthest inland point: Rockingham County, NC
8. Hurricane Hugo (September 1989)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 279.6 miles
- Farthest inland point: Johnson County, TN
7. Hurricane Zeta (October 2020)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 285.3 miles
- Farthest inland point: Murray County, GA
6. Hurricane Olga (October 2019)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 321.6 miles
- Farthest inland point: Fayette County, TN
5. Hurricane Audrey (June 1957)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 384.8 miles
- Farthest inland point: Williamson County, TN
4. Hurricane Frederic (September 1979)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 386.6 miles
- Farthest inland point: Overton County, TN
3. Hurricane Helene (September 2024)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 400.0 miles (estimated)
- Farthest inland point: Davidson County, TN
2. Hurricane Ike (September 2008)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 432.2 miles
- Farthest inland point: Newton County, AR
1. Hurricane Carla (September 1961)
- Farthest distance inland reached: 486.6 miles
- Farthest inland point: Taney County, MO
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