The gulf is so warm, Helene picked up water until the last minute. Those predictions of 15-20 foot surge floods on the Florida coast were terrifying, but at NO TIME did it even occur to me this storm could go on to dump 3 feet of rain (!) in one go over states further north. It literally washed places clean off the map.
If you haven’t already, it’s time to add “death by flood” to your great big wheel of possibilities no matter where you live.