Savannah officials warn of tornado threats from Hurricane Helene

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SAVANNAH — Hurricane Helene’s main threat to Savannah and Chatham County is tornadoes, local officials warned residents Wednesday.

Storm models show the center of Helene passing well to the west of coastal Georgia late Thursday and into Friday’s early morning hours. But the system is so large that the upper right edge of the storm is projected to brush the Savannah area.

”The cone you see in graphs can be misleading because it does not represent the total area of the storm,” said Dennis Jones, director of the Chatham Emergency Management Agency. Jones encouraged area residents to listen for tornado sirens throughout the nighttime hours and to be prepared to take shelter, advice echoed by Chatham Commission Chairman Chester Ellis. ”Tornadoes come quickly and do damage in a hurry,” Ellis said.

Savannah’s public schools will close early Thursday and will conduct classes Friday remotely, with students remaining at home. The Georgia Ports Authority’s Savannah terminals will remain open Thursday and Friday although crews won’t load or unload vessels between noon Thursday and 1 p.m. Friday due to concerns about high winds.

Helene is not expected to pose flooding danger to Savannah-area residents. Forecasts are for 1 to 3 inches of rain that will fall in bands, not in a constant deluge like what coastal Georgia experienced last month with Tropical Storm Debby.

Savannah experienced nearly 10 inches of rain from that August storm, well shy of estimates of 16 to 20 inches. Some inland areas saw up to an additional 4 inches from Debby. That caused flooding along inland rivers and other waterways, also washing over several residential neighborhoods along the Ogeechee River in Chatham and neighboring Bryan counties.

The Georgia Ports Authority’s Savannah terminals will remain open Thursday and Friday, although crews won’t load or unload vessels between noon Thursday and 1 p.m. Friday due to concerns about high winds.