HURRICANE HELENE HYDROLOGIC RESPONSE: A CASE STUDY FROM AN ON-CAMPUS HYDROLOGICAL RESEARCH STATION IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA

Hurricane Helene had major impacts on the Southern Appalachian region, including widespread record setting flooding. Cullowhee, North Carolina, home to Western Carolina University, was spared the devastating floods in the heart of the storm, but still received about 10 inches of rain over 48 hours, equating to about a 1/200-year event. A well-instrumented on-campus hydrological research station affords a unique opportunity to document the hydrologic responses and serve as a proxy to visualize how the Western North Carolina (WNC) area responds and recovers from large rain events. The goal of our research is to provide a full analysis and summary of the hydrologic response of the hurricane in the Cullowhee Creek watershed and three of its nested subbasins, ranging in size from 0.06 to 22.6 mi². We have data from over 40 groundwater wells, 4 stream gages, 5 soil moisture sites, and a weather station. Additionally, prior to the Helene event, the WNC region was in a drought. In our research, we explore topics such as groundwater recovery from a drought and the influence of Helene, how headwater watersheds of different scale respond to an extreme event, and how soil moisture varied and influenced rain flow paths and stream response. To provide context for our analysis, we compare the hydrologic response in Cullowhee to some other WNC sites at the storm center. With our preliminary analysis, we have observed that groundwater levels recovered at a similar rate to previous trends after a normal rain event. We also observed catchments of different scale varied in discharge response to Helene. Events like Helene are predicted to become prevalent with climate change. These data can used to help understand how geologically similar watersheds in the Southern Appalachian region may react to future natural disasters like Helene.