Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers:
Question: OK, was Helene a hurricane or a tropical storm? And which came first? Was it a tropical storm that grew into a hurricane, or a hurricane that diminished into a tropical storm? And why do we use both terms? Calling it a tropical storm somehow seems to downplay its severity.
My answer: I vote for referring to storms like this as “Tropical Menace” in the future.
Real answer: David Easterling, director of the National Climate Assessment Technical Support Unit at the National Centers for Environmental Information in Asheville, answered this one.
“Helene started in the western Caribbean Sea on Sept. 22, 2024, as an unnamed tropical depression with wind speeds below 39 mph,” Easterling said via email. “Once the storm became organized enough to produce sustained maximum wind speeds of 39 mph or greater it was classified as a Tropical Storm and given the name Helene from a predetermined list.”
As we well know, Helene wasn’t done, though. It got stronger and reached hurricane status — wind speeds of 74 mph or greater.
“As Hurricane Helene moved over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, it underwent rapid intensification to a Category 4 hurricane — wind speeds between 130-156 mph — before landfall,” Easterling said. “As it moved inland, away from its power source, the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, it began to lose strength, and once maximum sustained wind speeds dropped below 74 mph, it was reclassified to a Tropical Storm as it moved over central Georgia and then western North Carolina.”
While downgraded, Helene still clearly packed a punch when it hit our area Sept. 27.
“Even as a tropical storm, Helene produced devastating amounts of rainfall and winds, proving once again that wind speeds alone from a tropical cyclone don’t always indicate the destructive potential of such a storm, since more people die from drowning in the storm surge and flooding than from winds,” Easterling said.
Asheville Regional Airport recorded 14.19 inches of rain from Helene and the two days preceding the storm, according to the National Weather Service.
The pickleball courts in Fletcher, which just opened in 2023, sustained mostly fence damage from Tropical Storm Helene. The town says repair costs will likely exceed $40,000. // Watchdog photo by John Boyle
Question: It looks like Fletcher’s new pickleball courts and the tennis court sustained damage from Helene. How bad is it? It looks like mostly fencing damage. How long will it take to repair them and get the courts back open? How much will it cost?
My answer: Rest assured that no matter how severe the natural disaster, someone will ask about pickleball.
Real answer: Fletcher Town Manager Mark Biberdorf said via email the damage was indeed “mostly contained to the fencing.
“There appears to be some damage to the surface of the pickleball courts that we may be able to patch or repair in the short-term. It is going to take months to repair all of this, as we will have to bid out the repairs and carefully follow protocols for potential FEMA reimbursement.”
Biberdorf said that it’s hard to determine what that will cost but estimates it may be $40,000-plus.
“We will have a better idea as we get closer to bidding the project,” he said.
Question: I’m here with a question nobody seems to have asked yet: What about water towers?
Why don’t we have any? What would be the impediments to having one? They seem to be a more secure way to store and deliver clean water. I’m sure there are good answers for this, but I’m not sure what they are.
My answer: Great. Now people want me to supply good answers to these questions. So much work…
Real answer: When I brought this up at the Nov. 20 daily Helene briefing, Assistant City Manager Ben Woody noted that the city does have water storage tanks, but it does not have the types of water towers you often see in cities and towns — a large rounded tank sitting atop a tall pole. In cities that have them, water is pumped into the tower and then sent out to customers.
“Those cities are probably flat,” Woody said, pointing out one impediment to locating large water towers in Asheville — the mountains. “Generally, I think what we’re able to take advantage of with our storage tanks is just the naturally occurring elevation that we have here in Buncombe County.”
Asheville does have water storage tanks, but it does not have the type of water tower – shown here in Bremen, Ga. – that features a large rounded tank sitting atop a tall pole. // Credit: istockphoto.com/halbergman
The city’s water system, as we’ve reported, is complex, with 54 unique pressure zones, 1,800 miles of lines and 37 water storage tanks.
The online publication “WaterWorld Magazine” had an article about water towers in December 2022 that noted, “In some hilly regions, a water tower isn’t needed. Instead, a water tank can be placed on the highest hill.”
Tanks at a high elevation serve the same purpose a tower would — using gravity to disperse the water.
The article also listed the pros and cons of water towers. On the plus side:
“Water towers make it easy to maintain consistent pressure in a public water system, which is normally very difficult.
Water towers provide a good reserve of water to cope with times of peak demand.
As long as the water tower is elevated enough, it should effectively distribute water with hydrostatic pressure, driven by gravity, alone.
Installing a water tower means that money doesn’t have to be spent on a water pumping system that’s powerful enough to keep up with peak demand.”
And these are the cons:
“Even the best water tower can’t prevent a slight drop in water pressure during surges in demand.
Water can only flow to areas of lower elevation than the starting point (the water tower), so it may be limited in hilly regions.
Water towers may affect the taste and smell of water, especially in the initial few months after installation.
Untreated water towers may collect a layer of bacteria and sludge. They need to be cleaned at least every three to five years.”
So it looks like water tanks, not towers, make the most sense around here.
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Got a question? Send it to John Boyle at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org or 828-337-0941. His Answer Man columns appear each Tuesday and Friday. The Watchdog’s reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-12 00:01:00
(The Center Square) – Half of all American adults are using large language models, two-thirds speak with them, and 1 in 4 say moral judgments about right and wrong are made by these artificial intelligence tools.
The findings are in a report released Wednesday by the Imagining the Digital Future research center at Elon University. ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Copilot are popular brands, and human-like encounters are trending greater in volume.
The findings “show the degree to which LLMs are now being used in the way that people have used search engines for decades, including a quick access to information, queries about products and services and getting news and information,” the report says. “This has enormous implications for media, marketing and the basic sale of goods and services. It also suggests the profound impact LLMs might have on political and civic processes.”
Lee Rainie directs the research center. The analysis shows many believe the large language model they use “most acts like it understands them at least some of the time. A third say the model they primarily use seems to have a sense of humor,” a release says.
In other findings, the survey documents large proportions of users saying they have had negative experiences. The experiences include laziness, cheating, confusion and dependency on the tools rather than using critical thinking.
“One truly surprising finding,” a release says, is “contrary to the picture many have about how LLMs are used, our survey shows that the share of those who use the models for personal purposes significantly outnumber those who use them for work-related activities, even among workers.”
The sampling was conducted for Elon by the SSRS Opinion Panel platform. The survey reached 500 adults ages 18 and older, has a +/- 5.1% margin of error and 95% confidence level.
SUMMARY: New data shows a concerning 69.8% rise in domestic violence-related homicides in North Carolina from 2018 to 2024. In 2022, the state recorded 90 such homicides, the highest since 2018. Experts attribute this increase to ongoing effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, which heightened isolation and financial strain on families. Despite a rising demand for support services—up 75% during the pandemic, and still 50% higher than in 2018—funding has significantly decreased, falling from $103 million in 2018 to just $24 million last year. Advocates call for enhanced community support and reforms to reduce gun violence.
A troubling report from the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence reveals a record surge in domestic violence-related homicides across the state, with a 69.8% increase from 2018 to 2024.
SUMMARY: Merck has opened a $1 billion manufacturing expansion in Northern Durham to enhance vaccine production, marking a significant milestone for the facility. The new plant will focus on producing HPV vaccines, Gardasil and Gardasil 9, alongside existing vaccines for measles and chickenpox. This development is expected to create more jobs and training opportunities, positively impacting the local economy. North Carolina’s life sciences industry is thriving, surpassing 100,000 jobs for the first time, despite past federal uncertainties. Experts see a promising future for the sector, as numerous companies continue to invest and expand in the state.
The new Durham plant will manufacture the HPV vaccines and continue production on others.
