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Asheville faces high wildfire risk after Helene leaves record dry conditions

By Karen Wynne

Asheville faces high wildfire risk after Helene leaves record dry conditions

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) -- Wildfire danger is likely to remain high in the coming days. With the abundance of downed trees and other debris, any outdoor burning should be done with extreme caution.

After record rain from Hurricane Helene, Asheville now faces one of its longest recent dry stretches.

Between Sept. 30 and Oct. 22, only 0.01" of an inch of rain has fallen at the Asheville Regional Airport. That makes 2024 the second driest stretch in that timeframe behind 2000, when no rain fell between the end of September and Oct. 22.

Because of the tiny amount of rain (0.01") that fell on Oct. 14 this year, 2024 is not in the running for all-time dry stretches on record in Asheville. That happened from Sept. 26 through Nov. 3 in 2000 when Asheville stayed rain-free for 39 days in a row.

Meanwhile, the Upstate is on track to place in the top ten of all-time dry stretches by the end of the month.

So far, the region has been dry for twenty-five consecutive days. The chance for rain during the next seven days is low.

The European computer model shows only one-tenth of an inch of rain possible within the next seven days, while the American Model (GFS) shows it staying dry.

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