Thousands were without power, roadways were flooded and weekend festivities were canceled Friday as the outer bands of Hurricane dropped another inch of rain on the Charlottesville area.
That's in addition to the 4 1/2 inches rolling storms had dropped on the region ahead of Helene's landfall on the Florida Big Bend coast late Thursday night.
By Friday evening, there were already 47 reported deaths connected to the storm — one of those in Virginia.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a Facebook update around 4 p.m. Friday that the single fatality reported in Craig County was the result of a tree falling onto a building and crushing the structure.
A pedestrian walks away from the flooded road at Darden Towe Park in Charlottesville after rainfall from the outer bands of Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024.
"We lift up the family of this victim in our prayers," Youngkin said.
The weather has been worst in Southwest Virginia, as meteorologists anticipated. The city of Salem and five Virginia counties are under voluntary evacuation: Augusta, Wythe, Pulaski and Giles. Residents there aren’t required to leave their residences, but the order strongly suggests that it would be safest to do so.
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“While these are voluntary evacuation orders for particular communities, please adhere to them for your safety. Your life is too important,” Youngkin said Friday.
Youngkin said that while rain “may have subsided in certain parts of Virginia,” much of the state is under tornado. One cyclone had been reported Friday just north of Danville.
In Central Virginia, the National Weather Service has issued flood and flash flood warnings in Albemarle and Greene counties.
Government buildings closed early Friday, but are expected to reopen with normal operating hours next week.
The National Park Service has closed the Blue Ridge Parkway due to flooding and debris on the roadway. The parkway is expected to remain closed until road conditions can be assessed and hazards cleared.
Flooding at Darden Towe Park parking lot and road in Charlottesville from rainfall by hurricane Helene on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024.
Charlottesville's Loop de Ville Trail Festival, a day of guided group hikes on the Rivanna Trail planned for Saturday, has been postponed until Oct. 6 after the Rivanna crept over its banks Thursday and Friday, flooding low-lying parks and paths.
A section of Whippoorwill Road in Albemarle County, northwest of Charlottesville, has been completely washed out. The Virginia Department of Transportation said it believed the heavy rainfall undermined a drainage pipe carrying a creek under the road and caused it to collapse. VDOT has closed access to Whippoorwill Road between Cardinal Ridge Road and Garth Road. As of press time, there was no word on when a crew could repair the damage.
Power outages have been reported across the region, the vast majority near and west of the Blue Ridge, where 40 to 50 mph wind gusts were common Friday, with some gusts topping 60 mph.
As of Friday evening, there were roughly 3,000 power outages reported in the city of Charlottesville and surrounding Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, Madison, Nelson and Orange counties.
Things were far worse on the other side of Afton Mountain, where the cities of Waynesboro and Staunton and surrounding Augusta County reported more than 10,000 without power.
The National Weather Service said wind gusts as high as 50 mph will be likely throughout Friday night. Weather conditions are expected to improve by Saturday morning. Much of Saturday will be dry, warm and sunny. Rain is expected to return Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
