"Our hearts are heavy": NWS writes emotional letter to Carolinas, Georgia

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Axios

7 hours ago


Helene's brutal rout of western North and South Carolina left everybody here physically and emotionally drained, including the forecasters who spent the week trying to warn people of its imminent destruction.

What they're saying: "Our hearts are heavy this weekend, knowing that our neighbors, friends, and families are dealing with so much," the National Weather Service's Greenville-Spartanburg office posted in a letter "to the residents of the western Carolinas and Georgia" Saturday night, a rare show of emotion from data-driven forecasters.

"We live here, too."

Why it matters: NWS forecasts for Helene were remarkably accurate all week, but many people in this region — some 500-plus miles from where the storm made landfall in Florida — may have found them hard to believe.

Even the forecasters.

"As meteorologists, we always want to get the forecast right," NWS GSP wrote in its letter. "This is one we wanted to get wrong. This is the worst event in our office's history."

State of play: The storm has been blamed for at least 64 deaths in the Southeast, according to AP. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Sunday that 11 deaths had been confirmed in that state, but added, "we know there will be more" as rescuers try to reach areas cut off by road closures and cellphone outages.

Read more: https://www.axios.com/2024/09/29/hurricane-helene-floods-north-carolina-nws

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Link to tweet

NWS GSP
@NWSGSP
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To the residents of the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia:
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7:11 PM · Sep 28, 2024

[TygrBright]

1. "Government Bureaucrats" are human, too.

Seriously, no one I know (and I have worked in and for and with government agencies at various levels at various times in my life) decides "I'm going to work for the government for the power/prestige/money I'll accrue."

There are some people who want government jobs because they're secure, and some who do the minimum needed to get by and are annoyed by the demands of the public they serve, that's true.

But by and large, especially in the skilled and technical positions where they could be making so much more in the private sector, government workers are so often there because working for the government gives them unique opportunities to help their fellow-citizens, learn important things, and put their experience to work making peoples' lives better.

When their best efforts to save people fail, it is truly heartbreaking.

somberly,
Bright

[liberal N proud]

5. Many government employees take those jobs because they want to make a difference

[Tarheel_Dem]

2. I hope all of my fellow NC DU'ers are safe & sound.

[liberal N proud]

3. Had a group of friends who were n Asheville for an event.

Last I heard, most were safe on the upper floors of a hotel, but supplies were limited.

Several made it out but it was very difficult, roads washed out or under water.

We live in the far southern part of South Carolina and it was bad enough here, there are many still with out power. The road I take to work is washed out.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. I haven't heard much of a peep out of South Carolina

and that thing would have had to barrel through there before getting to North Carolina.

[Deminpenn]

7. It's bad there, too

Spoke to someone I know who lives in northern S Car who told me that they are on their 2nd day of no power, trees and power lines are down everywhere. Luckily this person's neighborhood only has downed trees and lines, but not far, there's massive destruction. They've never had anything like what happened, only maybe Hugo was comparable.

[KatK]

4. Wow! Beautiful and unexpected message. I am proud of them and praying for all there. n/t

[moniss]

8. It is ironic that the Senators and Congressman from these same states

are the ones who try to diminish disaster funds to other areas of the mainland from various disasters as well as Puerto Rico.

[littlemissmartypants]

9. I don't know if I'll ever stop crying. Just when I thought I was holding on

I read these heartfelt missives from official sources and start all over again.

It is a great comfort though to discover that the compassionate and the tenderhearted are closer than we might think.

Thanks for sharing this, BRDS.

❤️

[Cheezoholic]

10. My hats off to the NWS Greenville/Spartanburg office. They were putting the warnings out a week before this storm

We still go to the mountains 4 or 5 times a year mostly to visit friends and family and stay at a small (really small lol) primitive cabin on 5 acres we own with 2 other couples. I have been somewhere in the mountains every year since the 80's, hiking, white water kayaking and canoeing, camping, music.

Like Fl I've seen them change and not for the better. There are some places in the mountains you just can't develop but they have been developing the hell out of them over the last 20-25 years. These aren't the coal mine mountains of West Va, luckily there are 3 large national Parks that protect a lot of them. But what's not protected these greedy developers(with the help of greedy people in local governments) are building wherever they can level lots. And they are selling to naïve people who have no clue where they're moving.

And I would bet thats why there was such a loss. 75% of the people that were probably "surprised" by what the local NWS was selling and thought it was hype because they weren't there 20 years ago when Ivan caused massive lethal flooding. I was waiving the flag about the mountains on here last Tuesday. Not like I'm a genius, was just passing along how concerned the smart people at the NWS were and the info we were discussing on some serious weather boards.

The NHC and the Tampa/Tallahassee/Atlanta/Greenville-Spartanburg NWS offices nailed this storm, I mean nailed it. And not just nailed it, they started warning about it before it even formed and just kept yelling louder and louder. My goodness what a freaking job.

It's sad even in these modern times, people don't listen then want to blame somebody else.