On the weekend of Sept. 20-21, I went to the Grindstone 100-Mile Ultramarathon at Natural Chimneys Park in Virginia, where my oldest son was a participant. 294 runners took part in this grueling ordeal. Of these, 168 finished the race in the required time of 36 hours. 

It’s hard to know what to write about when my mind is swirling in so many directions, as I’m sure most of yours are as well. As someone said, not only were the effects of Hurricane Helene on a mountain region improbable, they were unimaginable.

Putting the truck into park, my girlfriend, Sarah, and I finally returned to our quaint apartment in downtown Waynesville Monday evening. After a long journey from the North Carolina coast back to Haywood County this weekend, it’s been a whirlwind of emotions.  

While Macon County may have been spared the catastrophic flooding experienced by so many of its Western North Carolina neighbors following Hurricane Helene, it was not spared the most serious and devastating effects of the storm — loss of life. 

Jackson County was largely spared the damning effects of Hurricane Helene from which its neighbors to the east are still reeling. However, heavy rains and high winds have left thousands without power, water and telephone or internet service.  

AGAIN. For the second time in three years, Haywood County, the highest east of the Mississippi River, experienced devastating flooding from a tropical weather system that reached mountainous Southern Appalachia’s narrow, rocky canyons and broad, lush river valleys — wiping out whole towns, inundating normally impregnable areas and crippling the communications and transportation infrastructure that powers public safety, commerce and the dissemination of information. 

Tropical Storm Helene was predicted to bring significant flooding to Western North Carolina, but it's hard to fathom how much destruction has actually been wrought. As the storm developed, readers from around the area sent photos into Smoky Mountain News. Here's a look at some of them. 

• BearWaters 1 BearWaters 1
• BearWaters 2 BearWaters 2
• Thompson Cove Thompson Cove
• Downtown Clyde Downtown Clyde
• Clyde House Clyde House
• Clyde bridge Clyde bridge
• Coleman Mountain Bridge 1 Coleman Mountain Bridge 1
• Coleman Mountain Bridge 2 Coleman Mountain Bridge 2
• Frog Level flooding Frog Level flooding
• Maggie Valley landslide Maggie Valley landslide
• Wanyesville flooding Wanyesville flooding
• Macon County flooding Macon County flooding
• Canton Moose Lodge Canton Moose Lodge
• Downtown Canton Downtown Canton
• Waynesville Ingles Waynesville Ingles
•  

Gov. Roy Cooper provided an update on the emergency response and recovery from Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina.

He began by noting the approval of a major disaster declaration for 25 North Carolina counties, as well as the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Editor's note: Hurricane Helene has already produced flash flooding and dangerous winds across the region, and it has come on the heels of heavy rains, downed trees, sporadic tornadoes and some minor flooding due to a separate system that entered the region from the west. Smoky Mountain News Staff will be out gathering photos and firsthand reports throughout Friday and beyond. This page will be updated with those pictures and stories as they come in from across our coverage area, but you can always find more on our Facebook, Instagram and X accounts.

The first of eight planned new river gauges will be installed in Haywood County this week. When complete the project will greatly enhance Haywood County Emergency Services’ ability to monitor upstream river levels.