For those who are interested in a real analysis of Helene (or any US approaching Hurricane) the BEST site I have ever found is by a meteorologist
Levi Cowan.
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If any of you feel so lead to pray or send love and light or warm energy out, my oldest kiddo has just started freshman year of college on the Georgia coast. Of course campus closing this afternoon and most of tomorrow, plus additional classes/events canceled. The next 24 hours will be at high risk for storm surge of seas and river/mouths, flooding, strong winds and tornadoes, loss of power, and blocked roads and waterways (important cargo hub). No evacuations ordered yet for their zone, thankfully.
And while this kid is my child and has had all the safety things covered since the womb, your first real on-your-own adult weather situation can be scary for you and your helpless mama back home. We have had to handle plenty of weather emergencies, but this is our first time to do it apart. 
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Man, watching the coverage is bringing back memories of Hugo. Theyāre now saying that Atlanta may see hurricane force winds! Even if itās not quite that bad, I bet itās going to have serious effects for a lot of people who are unprepared; after all, who worries about a hurricane in Atlanta?
And Iām seeing reports that rain in NC is bad enough that I-26 might have to be closed to repair flood damage. Incredible!
But geez, I wish WeatherNation had more than two advertisers! 
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I donāt disagree, but I do wonder if the Carolina Crossroads Project wonāt be exploited by the contractors engaged in that initiative, behind the scenes, as a result of Hurricane Heleneās impact upon the Interstate Highway infrastructure.
On a related note that few of us here but you and I are likely to understand, Columbiaās Five Points area (including your former place of employment along the southeastern stretch of Harden Street) seems to be slipping further down to Whaley Streetās level of periodic inundationā¦as it has been even before the 2015 āOnce in 500 Yearsā downpourā¦
Buncombe County NC here - just north of Asheville. Started raining here mid-afternoon on Wednesday. Not from Helene, but from a cold front moving through. Over 10ā measured by mid-day Thursday by a friend near us.
We are now starting to feel the effects of Helene - winds are picking up and rain is getting even heavier. Local rivers are predicted to exceed levels seen during the 1916 flood.
We are on high ground away from the rivers, so are safe. Our biggest concern now is downed trees due to the saturated ground and expected winds.
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Path shifted; Iām fine. We had some rain and ended up on the west side of it. Looks like the next storm brewing in the gulf may make my prep worth it? Who knows.
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Nigel, weāre hoping for an update from you soon. Looks like you got hit far worse than even the most worried of us expected. Let us know when you get a chance.
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Iāll add that I generally donāt have much sympathy (account wise) for the people who refuse to go on vacation ahead of a hurricane, then beg for mercy because the storm hit 20 miles from where it was predicted, but I hope that Amazon will not punish sellers in NC/TN who were affected (or anywhere in the path). I donāt think that even the most extreme predictions came close to the reality.
And more importantly, I hope that everyone affected stays safe.
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I am in an area that was absolutely SMACKED years ago by Ida (hundreds of miles from landfall). We were warned, but they were normal warnings we have all dealt with before and we all prepāed as we should have. Ida had other plains and delivered a 1,000 year storm, flooded things that had never been touched before. Amazon while not making it known wide spread did show a human side to us and other sellers that showed we were prepared (vacation mode ASAP). I do not know how they handled every seller but I was not offended.
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I donāt recall the storm; it was a few years ago. Despite the hurricane doing pretty much what was predicted (perhaps a little harder hitting), Amazon announced that they would not punish sellers for late shipments or cancelations due to the storm damage.
I remember some being a bit upset, since this was a case where there were no huge surprises, and people should have prepared with vacation mode, while at the same time, and strong Derecho devastated parts of the mid-west, with no advance warning, and Amazon did not extend the same courtesy to them.
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Thanks. We have been incredibly lucky. Minimal damage to our property but heartbroken at all the devastation around us. Our power is back on and we now have internet access. Cell service is still out with no way to know when it might be back. Mobile cell towers are being brought in to help people communicate with the outside world.
Power is still out in much of the area and many roads are still impassable so getting supplies in is going slowly. 2 Interstates serve the area but major damage to both of them has restricted access.
Most municipal water systems are damaged so water is a critical issue. We are also lucky to be on well water and are fine in that respect.
The widespread devastation is beyond my comprehension. Weāre eternally grateful for the people helping to clear roads and check on their neighbors. The Asheville airport is back open as of this morning. Itās going to be a long recovery process for everyone affected - not only in this area but in all the states ravaged by this storm.
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I hope Amazon provides an accurate POA for all damaged items in their FCās for this period, and what steps they are taking to prevent further loss of seller inventory.
My bot is already set to auto reject any POA short of āwe will open our wallet and reimburse you for the selling price of the items without you jumping through hoops to get itā.
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Unimaginable nightmare for those in Heleneās path. The cleanup and starting over is gonna be rough. Heart to all.
I was looking for a package that should have been here by now and see on tracking that label was created but not arrival scanned. Looking up tracking shows it was created in Fletcher NC close to Asheville. That explains.
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Hope itās not something critical. This was in the daily newsletter from our local congressman and includes Fletcher:
United States Postal Service
- As of late Monday, September 30, all mail delivery operations in the following three-digit ZIP code areas (any ZIP code beginning with these numbers) have been suspended:
- 287
- 288
- 289
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Nothing I could order online short of some lifesaving medication could be more important than getting these peopleās lives back together.
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Milton is now a Cat 5 per weather.com, headed toward Tampa.
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Anticipating that this might happen, we sent our employees in the Clearwater, FL-based Corporate HQ home @ lunchtime.
May all of those and theirs who face a potentially-devastating interruption of their daily routines stay safeā¦
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The right thing to do
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And told them to check in with you, but not try to come back until next week, right? Yikes.
Edit: to clarify, I mean Yikes to the weather, not to your VERY REASONABLE response.
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That happened WAY faster then they anticipated. South Florida is going to become the 51st state (and I donāt mean that as a haha, I mean that as take this serious and get out NOW if you can)
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