CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hurricane Helene showers arrived in Charlotte Thursday morning, as the North Carolina mountains braced for up to 20” of rain and what the National Weather Service has labeled “catastrophic flooding.”

A 4-year-old girl died in a Catawba County head-on wreck during heavy rains Thursday morning, State Highway Patrol Trooper Christopher Casey said.

A 2-year-old and a 12-year-old in the vehicles were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, Casey said.

“This will be one of the most significant weather events to happen in the western portions of the area in the modern era,” the National Weather Service for Spartanburg and Greenville posted on Thursday. “Record flooding is forecasted and has been compared to the floods of 1916 in the Asheville area.”

That flood brought death and property damage to western North Carolina. At least 50 people died.

Streams and rivers, already full from previous rains, surged across low ground with startling speed in mid-July of 1916. Dead horses and chickens, hogsheads of tobacco and bales of cottons, moonshine stills and whole houses sailed down the Catawba, Yadkin and French Broad rivers, The Charlotte Observer reported.

The 22.22 inches that drenched Altapass, a community in the mountains of Mitchell County, beginning July 15, 1916, was the heaviest 24-hour rainfall ever recorded in the U.S. at that time.

By 1 p.m. Thursday, heavy Helene rains closed 97 roads in Western North Carolina, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation.

Charlotte on alert

At 10 a.m. Thursday, Charlotte Douglas International Airport was under a Helene-spawned tornado warning, along with Belmont and Mount Holly in Gaston County. Radar indicated a tornado, NWS meteorologists said, but there were no confirmed reports.

Charlotte resident Jacob Sprankle posted video on X, the former Twitter, of a funnel cloud in Steele Creek. The NWS retweeted his post.

“This is an unusually dangerous storm that threatens to bring heavy rain and potentially catastrophic flooding tonight and tomorrow for central and particularly Western North Carolina,” Gov. Roy Cooper said at an 11 a.m. news conference Thursday. “It can be deadly. Beware and prepare.”

Drivers should stay off roads, especially in the mountains and foothills, although even Charlotte could see flooding “despite not being in the path of the storm,” Cooper said.

“We have lost too many North Carolinians who have driven around barricades and into floodwaters,” Cooper said.

Gusts up to 50 mph are expected in Charlotte late Thursday and early Friday, NWS meteorologists said. The storm is predicted to dump 2” to 3” of rain on Charlotte, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

The Charlotte area, Upstate South Carolina and the N.C. foothills could see “widespread downed trees, and numerous power outages (are) likely,” the NWS office in Greer, South Carolina, said on social media.

Tornadoes threaten the region through Friday morning, NWS forecasters said.

Thursday, President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for North Carolina. That allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help fund emergency protective measures in much of Western North Carolina, including evacuations and emergency shelters.

10,000 without power in NC mountains

Nearly 10,000 Duke Energy customers were without power in the North Carolina mountains at 11 a.m. Thursday, according to the company outage map. Most were in the Asheville and Hendersonville areas, and 1,000 were in Franklin.

Statewide, 14,000 had no power, Cooper said.

Minimal outages were reported in Mecklenburg and surrounding counties.

In the Carolinas’ mountains, “catastrophic flash-flooding is expected along numerous streams, with possibly historic flooding near the Blue Ridge Escarpment,” the NWS said on X, the former Twitter.

“Landslides/debris flows expected through at least Friday,” the NWS said.

Shelters opened Thursday in Avery, Buncombe and McDowell counties, emergency officials said.

Thursday morning, Helene became a category 2 hurricane, “with significant additional strengthening expected before landfall in Florida,” according to a National Hurricane Center bulletin.

Helene was about 320 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, with 100 mph winds.

Charlotte airport flight delays

American Airlines issued travel alerts on Wednesday for airports in the Southeast, including Charlotte Douglas International Airport. American accounts for about 87% of all flights out of CLT.

In less than two days — as of noon Thursday — 471 CLT flights were disrupted, according to tracking site FlightAware.com.

Gov. Cooper declares NC State of Emergency

Cooper declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, activating the National Guard and deploying swift-water teams in advance of Helene.

“Helene threatens heavy rain, flash flooding, landslides, and damaging winds to the mountains and Piedmont areas of our state,” Cooper said in a statement. “Now is the time for North Carolinians to prepare, make sure emergency kits are up-to-date and pay attention to the weather alerts in your area.”

On Thursday, Cooper said Helene’s “path is wide, and its impacts will be felt far from the center of the storm.”

Charlotte officials said crews are preparing for heavy rain and strong gusts knocking down trees and limbs. Call 911 immediately if a tree or part of a tree has fallen and blocks a road, officials said.

Duke Energy called in power line and tree crews from other states. Wind damage and flooding could delay restoring power, but its crews will do so “as quickly and safely as possible,” according to a company statement Thursday morning.

Charlotte Motor Speedway opened its campgrounds at noon Wednesday for Helene evacuees from across the Southeast. Evacuees should check in at the Camping World Racing Resort office at 6600 Bruton Smith Blvd. in Concord.

Caldwell County also declared a state of emergency. Haywood County in the mountains urged residents to prepare for possible evacuation due to flooding from Helene.

School closings

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials canceled in-person classes for the rest of the week. The district will move to remote learning on Friday, with classes to be completed asynchronously, meaning there won’t be any face-to-face instruction, according to a weather alert posted on the CMS website.

After school activities for Thursday and Friday are canceled, according to the district. Athletic events will be rescheduled.

Mecklenburg courts

All Mecklenburg court sessions Friday are canceled, except for District Court first appearances, which will start at 1 p.m., and domestic violence ex parte hearings, which remain on schedule.

—Observer staff writers Chase Jordan and Evan Moore and Adam Wagner of The News & Observer contributed.

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