With a system that dumped several inches of rainfall in Western North Carolina ahead of Hurricane Helene on Wednesday night into Thursday morning, the National Weather Service is comparing this upcoming event to the Asheville flood of 1916.

It also said it will have more impact that Tropical Storm Fred in 2021 and the Frances and Ivan storms in 2004.

Hurricane Helene reached Category 3 status in the late afternoon of Sept. 26 and was set to make landfall in Florida. Forecasters said it will move up through the Southeast quickly and through WNC through the night Thursday and into Friday morning, bringing torrential rains.

"This will be one of the most significant weather events to happen in the Western portions of the area in the modern era," the National Weather Service said. "Record flooding is forecasted and has been compared to the floods of 1916 in the Asheville area."

Within a week-long period in July, the consisted of two back-to-back hurricanes that dropped more than 26 inches of rain in WNC. in July 2016, commemorating the 100-year anniversary of that event.

The NWS went on to say the impacts from this event are expected to be greater than Tropical Storm Fred from August 2021, the mountains in 2004 from Frances and Ivan and in Upstate South Carolina when the Saluda River Basin flooded in 1949.

"We plead with everyone that you take every single weather warning very seriously through the entirety of this event as impacts will be life-threatening and make sure to have multiple ways to receive the alerts," the NWS reported. "The protection of life and property is the overall mission of the National Weather Service, and we pledge to stand by the folks of the Western Carolinas and Northeast Georgia."

This was another statement from the NWS:

We cannot stress the significance of this event enough. Heed all evacuation orders from your local Emergency Managers and go to a storm shelter if you do not feel safe at your current location. Landslides, including fast-moving debris flows consisting of water, mud, falling rocks, trees and other large debris are most likely within small valleys that drain steep slopes. Landslides are powerful and potentially deadly, capable of washing out roads, bridges and homes. People living in areas prone to landslides should be aware of the danger and be prepared to act.

Buncombe County also compared this event to the flood of 1916. Officials urged residents near flood-prone areas, like those who live near the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers to evacuate.

"Following projections from the National Weather Service, catastrophic and historic flooding is anticipated in Buncombe County along the French Broad and Swannanoa Rivers. Residents, businesses, visitors, and employees in Fletcher and Biltmore Village near the rivers should self-evacuate before anticipated crests overnight Friday and into Saturday morning. Flooding is expected to rival and/or surpass flooding from the 1916 flood," officials said in a news release.

On Thursday, the Town of Marshall encouraged residents and business owners to make preparations to evacuate before they could possibly be isolated by flooded roads coming in and out of town.