Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Florida and then stormed across multiples states in the Southeast. It impacted the Blue Ridge Parkway on September 27, 2024 as a post-tropical cyclone. Its arrival in western North Carolina followed several days of saturating rain to the region. The storm devastated the area with up to 30 inches of rain in localized areas and peak sustained winds of up to 60 miles per hour. This heavy rain and wind resulted in significant damage to parts of the parkway and some areas remain closed. The section of the parkway passing through North Carolina was more affected than the section of the parkway passing through Virginia.
Common Questions Expand the panels below for answers to some of the common questions asked about the impacts of mudslides, wind and rain on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Sections of road are reopening as they are cleared of tree debris and assessed for damage. Roadway conditions may change at anytime, since the area around landslides on the road are moving and settling. For more information on open sections of the parkway, visit Current Conditions for a map or Road Conditions for a list.
Check current Road Conditions of the parkway to see if the section of roadway you plan to drive is open or not. Also check https://drivenc.gov/ for road conditions outside the park in North Carolina and https://511.vdot.virginia.gov/ for road conditions outside the park in Virginia.
There will probably be some impact to the future ecology of the parkway, but we don’t know any more information about that impact at this time. For more information about ecological monitoring on the Blue Ridge Parkway, check the Appalachian Highlands Inventory and Monitoring site.
We're studying what happened on the Blue Ridge Parkway during Hurricane Helene. Other parks have had similar slope failures along roadways. To learn more about the study of landslides, read an article about a similar event at a single site or check out the National Park Service geohazard page.
Parkway before and after storm debris clearing work
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Near Mile Marker 390.4 on Blue Ridge Parkway
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News Releases about Hurricane Helene Recovery Efforts |
Last updated: December 13, 2024