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Hurricane Helene Will Bring Strong Winds, Flash Flooding and Storm Surge

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Wednesday, September 25, 2024

September 25, 20244 min readWhat Makes Hurricane Helene Such a Dangerous Storm?Hurricane Helene is a large storm set to bring substantial storm surge to the coast of Florida, as well as wind and rain-driven flooding up into Tennessee and South CarolinaBy Andrea ThompsonA business owner places plywood against a storefront window in Tarpon Springs, Florida on September 25, 2024 ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall on Thursday on Florida’s West Coast. Hurricane season isn’t done with the Gulf Coast, it seems. Yet another storm, Helene, is heading for Florida a little more than two weeks after Francine walloped Louisiana. Helene is big—and is set to bring up to 15 feet of storm surge in the state. It’s also expected to cause extreme downpours well inland, with the highest potential for flash flooding in the southern Appalachian Mountains.Though Helene formed just after the mid-September peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, this is still prime time for storms because ocean waters have plenty of heat to fuel them after months of summer sun. This hurricane continues a resurgence in storms that began with Francine in early September following weeks of relatively little activity. The lull came after the season started with a bang with Hurricane Beryl, which became the earliest Category 5 storm on record in the Atlantic basin.Now Helene is barreling into the Gulf of Mexico, where the environment is expected to be close to ideal for the storm to strengthen. Helene is forecast to become a major hurricane before it makes landfall somewhere in Florida’s Big Bend area (the crook between the state’s panhandle and its main peninsula).On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.One key threat from Helene will be storm surges, which are expected to reach 10 to 15 feet above ground level in the worst-hit areas of the Big Bend. Lower, though still potentially damaging, surge levels are forecast as far away from the center of the storm as the southern tip of Florida. One reason for the large surge footprint will be the storm’s size, which is expected to be in the top 10 percent of hurricanes at similar latitudes.Helene will be so big in part because “it’s starting out big,” says Kim Wood, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Arizona. Also, the storm’s center is currently threading the needle between Cuba and Mexico; this keeps it over water, allowing the convection that powers the core of tropical systems to continue getting fuel in the form of heat and moisture. Meanwhile the winds swirling around that center are travelling over land, where they encounter friction—“and that moves energy and momentum around” in a way that can increase the size of the storm, Wood says. Lastly, when the storm moves into the gulf, it will have ample moisture and heat, and Wood notes there is some research that suggests that more humid environments yield bigger hurricanes. As an example, they cite Hurricane Katrina, which grew much bigger after it emerged into the gulf than it had been earlier, when it was in the Atlantic to the east of Florida. “The Gulf of Mexico can support bigger storms,” Wood says.Those warm, moist conditions—along with relatively little wind shear, which can disrupt a storm’s center—are also expected to cause Helene to steadily intensify. It is likely to become Category 3 or stronger before it makes landfall. There’s a strong chance it could undergo what is called rapid intensification, which means a storm’s sustained winds jump by at least 35 miles per hour in 24 hours.Hurricane Helene over the Gulf of Mexico on September 25, 2024.NOAA/NESDIS/STAR - GOES EASTWhether Helene does so depends in part on all of those external environmental factors, as well as the storm’s internal structure. Hurricanes that develop a closed “eye wall” of thunderstorms around their center “eye” can use heat more efficiently and thus grow, Wood explains. This is one reason experts and forecasters are watching detailed satellite imagery that helps them view what is happening at the center of the storm, “almost like an x-ray to see what’s going on underneath the cloud tops,” they say.Helene’s winds will likely cause problems unusually far inland—with tropical-storm-force winds potentially reaching into northern Georgia—because the storm will be moving fairly briskly. Storms that move faster after making landfall don’t lose energy as quickly, Wood says.Helene will also bring substantial flooding threats from heavy rains far inland. The areas most likely to be affected extend northward from the Gulf Coast to the southern Appalachians, where the threat will be at its highest. This is partly because that region has been enduring a drought, so the soil is dry and packed. That means much of the rain will simply run off, says Derek Eisentrout, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s office in Morristown, Tenn. Additionally, the mountainous terrain means rain can rush down slopes into lower-lying valleys, he says.Climate change is also playing a role in increasing the threats from hurricanes: Rising seas add to surge amounts, and storms now produce higher rainfall totals than they did in the past. And there is evidence that a higher percentage of hurricanes are reaching the highest intensities, so storms are also expected to undergo rapid strengthening because of climate change.Forecasters note that anyone in Helene’s path should pay close attention to local forecasts and orders from local officials about evacuations and areas to avoid. Wood notes that the National Weather Service also has helpful Hurricane Threats and Impacts Graphics, which let people toggle between different threats—such as flooding and winds—and click to see the status of their specific area.Additional reporting by Meghan Bartels.

Hurricane Helene is a large storm set to bring substantial storm surge to the coast of Florida, as well as wind and rain-driven flooding up into Tennessee and South Carolina

September 25, 2024

4 min read

What Makes Hurricane Helene Such a Dangerous Storm?

Hurricane Helene is a large storm set to bring substantial storm surge to the coast of Florida, as well as wind and rain-driven flooding up into Tennessee and South Carolina

By Andrea Thompson

A man places plywood over an arched window on the storefront for a fish store in Florida — A business owner places plywood against a storefront window in Tarpon Springs, Florida on September 25, 2024 ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Helene, expected to make landfall on Thursday on Florida’s West Coast.

Hurricane season isn’t done with the Gulf Coast, it seems. Yet another storm, Helene, is heading for Florida a little more than two weeks after Francine walloped Louisiana. Helene is big—and is set to bring up to 15 feet of storm surge in the state. It’s also expected to cause extreme downpours well inland, with the highest potential for flash flooding in the southern Appalachian Mountains.

Though Helene formed just after the mid-September peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, this is still prime time for storms because ocean waters have plenty of heat to fuel them after months of summer sun. This hurricane continues a resurgence in storms that began with Francine in early September following weeks of relatively little activity. The lull came after the season started with a bang with Hurricane Beryl, which became the earliest Category 5 storm on record in the Atlantic basin.

Now Helene is barreling into the Gulf of Mexico, where the environment is expected to be close to ideal for the storm to strengthen. Helene is forecast to become a major hurricane before it makes landfall somewhere in Florida’s Big Bend area (the crook between the state’s panhandle and its main peninsula).

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

One key threat from Helene will be storm surges, which are expected to reach 10 to 15 feet above ground level in the worst-hit areas of the Big Bend. Lower, though still potentially damaging, surge levels are forecast as far away from the center of the storm as the southern tip of Florida. One reason for the large surge footprint will be the storm’s size, which is expected to be in the top 10 percent of hurricanes at similar latitudes.

Helene will be so big in part because “it’s starting out big,” says Kim Wood, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Arizona. Also, the storm’s center is currently threading the needle between Cuba and Mexico; this keeps it over water, allowing the convection that powers the core of tropical systems to continue getting fuel in the form of heat and moisture. Meanwhile the winds swirling around that center are travelling over land, where they encounter friction—“and that moves energy and momentum around” in a way that can increase the size of the storm, Wood says. Lastly, when the storm moves into the gulf, it will have ample moisture and heat, and Wood notes there is some research that suggests that more humid environments yield bigger hurricanes. As an example, they cite Hurricane Katrina, which grew much bigger after it emerged into the gulf than it had been earlier, when it was in the Atlantic to the east of Florida. “The Gulf of Mexico can support bigger storms,” Wood says.

Those warm, moist conditions—along with relatively little wind shear, which can disrupt a storm’s center—are also expected to cause Helene to steadily intensify. It is likely to become Category 3 or stronger before it makes landfall. There’s a strong chance it could undergo what is called rapid intensification, which means a storm’s sustained winds jump by at least 35 miles per hour in 24 hours.

Satellite image of the Gulf of Mexico showing Hurricane Helene heading toward Florida on September 25, 2024 — Hurricane Helene over the Gulf of Mexico on September 25, 2024.
NOAA/NESDIS/STAR - GOES EAST

Whether Helene does so depends in part on all of those external environmental factors, as well as the storm’s internal structure. Hurricanes that develop a closed “eye wall” of thunderstorms around their center “eye” can use heat more efficiently and thus grow, Wood explains. This is one reason experts and forecasters are watching detailed satellite imagery that helps them view what is happening at the center of the storm, “almost like an x-ray to see what’s going on underneath the cloud tops,” they say.

Helene’s winds will likely cause problems unusually far inland—with tropical-storm-force winds potentially reaching into northern Georgia—because the storm will be moving fairly briskly. Storms that move faster after making landfall don’t lose energy as quickly, Wood says.

Helene will also bring substantial flooding threats from heavy rains far inland. The areas most likely to be affected extend northward from the Gulf Coast to the southern Appalachians, where the threat will be at its highest. This is partly because that region has been enduring a drought, so the soil is dry and packed. That means much of the rain will simply run off, says Derek Eisentrout, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s office in Morristown, Tenn. Additionally, the mountainous terrain means rain can rush down slopes into lower-lying valleys, he says.

Climate change is also playing a role in increasing the threats from hurricanes: Rising seas add to surge amounts, and storms now produce higher rainfall totals than they did in the past. And there is evidence that a higher percentage of hurricanes are reaching the highest intensities, so storms are also expected to undergo rapid strengthening because of climate change.

Forecasters note that anyone in Helene’s path should pay close attention to local forecasts and orders from local officials about evacuations and areas to avoid. Wood notes that the National Weather Service also has helpful Hurricane Threats and Impacts Graphics, which let people toggle between different threats—such as flooding and winds—and click to see the status of their specific area.

Additional reporting by Meghan Bartels.

Read the full story here.

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Shade Equity: To Understand the Problem — and the Solutions — Look to Tucson

Heat deaths here have soared 650% in the past decade. Addressing inequality will save lives. The post Shade Equity: To Understand the Problem — and the Solutions — Look to Tucson appeared first on The Revelator.

Residents of Tucson all know the relief of stepping into the shade on a hot desert afternoon. In Tucson, where summer temperatures often soar above 110 degrees, shade can feel like a lifeline. Yet in too many parts of our city, especially on the Southside, shade is scarce. Concrete and gravel dominate yards, streets, and gathering places, while tree canopy coverage remains limited. For residents who rely on walking and public transit, the absence of shade turns a simple errand into a serious health risk. In 2023 alone there were 990 heat-related deaths in the state of Arizona. Compared to a decade ago, this is a 650% increase in the number of preventable fatalities attributable to extreme heat exposure. This risk is compounded by the heat records being broken in the spring and fall, exacerbating the risk of heat exposure. We’re a group of graduate students in the field of public health at the University of Arizona who have learned how infrastructure directly affects health outcomes. Living, working, and studying in Tucson has made us aware of how urban planning can either protect or endanger communities. Affluent neighborhoods often enjoy tree-lined streets and shaded bus stops, while historically marginalized communities endure relentless sun exposure. This is not just an inconvenience; it’s an environmental justice problem that compounds existing health disparities. Tucson’s Million Trees initiative has made significant strides thanks to the local leadership and a $5 million federal grant. However, recent actions by the Trump administration have halted this progress and more initiatives in the city. Cuts to diversity and equity programs have led to the cancellation of a $75 million urban forestry grant nationwide, potentially limiting future support for cities like Tucson. On top of that, efforts to boost domestic timber production and recent layoffs in the U.S. Forest Service risk undermining tree maintenance and climate resilience. As Tucson faces increasingly severe summer heat, communities must look beyond temporary relief measures to sustainable solutions. Water stations and cooling centers have become first-line defenses, yet they operate under limited hours, require maintenance, and often go underutilized due to distance or lack of public awareness. In contrast, expanding shade through canopy trees and permanent shade structures provides passive, continuously available cooling with minimal energy demand. Funding for these projects is already supported by the city’s Green Infrastructure Fee on monthly water bills, making the investment fiscally feasible. Trees not only reduce ambient temperatures but also filter air pollutants, mitigate stormwater runoff, and enhance community well-being. Although the initial cost may seem significant, the long-term public health gains, reduced energy use, and environmental resilience far outweigh the expense. For Tucson’s future, shade must be recognized as critical infrastructure. Increased community involvement is crucial for the success of shade equity initiatives. We must empower residents to shape their environment to move beyond top-down approaches. This can be achieved through several avenues. First we must educate residents about shade equity through accessible public awareness campaigns that highlight the tangible benefits of shade and the very real risks of heat exposure. Residents must also be directly involved in the shade infrastructure projects’ planning and design. This can be accomplished through inclusive workshops, user-friendly surveys, and the establishment of representative community advisory boards. We should create robust volunteer programs that incentivize residents to participate in tree planting, shade structure maintenance, and sustained community outreach. Genuine partnerships between government agencies, nonprofit organizations, local businesses, schools, and local artists are key to leveraging diverse resources and expertise. Perhaps most importantly, we must equip and encourage residents to become active advocates for shade equity policies and increased funding at the local and state levels by organizing community meetings and town halls and supporting the development and implementation of comprehensive shade master plans that prioritize the equitable distribution of shade resources as a matter of fundamental justice. Cities across Arizona — like Phoenix, Yuma, and Nogales — face similar patterns of shade inequity, and this issue extends nationwide. From Los Angeles to Atlanta, low-income neighborhoods, communities of color, and unhoused folks consistently have fewer trees and less shade infrastructure. Internationally, cities in the Global South are also grappling with rising temperatures but lack adequate cooling solutions. This puts the unhoused populations at risk of heat-related illness and increased risk of mortality, especially in cities like Tucson. As urban areas everywhere adapt to the climate crisis, equitable shade must be part of the conversation around sustainable, healthy city design. And as climate change intensifies and heat waves grow more deadly, access to shade must be recognized as a basic public health need. Even as the Trump administration threatens to cut funding from climate initiatives, Tucson’s commitment remains firm. Shade must be treated as essential infrastructure, not a luxury. With every tree planted creating shaded space, we take a hopeful step toward a more livable Tucson — and other overheated cities across the planet. Previously in The Revelator: As Heat Deaths Rise, Planting Trees Is Part of the Solution The post Shade Equity: To Understand the Problem — and the Solutions — Look to Tucson appeared first on The Revelator.

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OpenAI’s Secrets are Revealed in Empire of AI

On our 2025 Best Nonfiction of the Year list, Karen Hao’s investigation of artificial intelligence reveals how the AI future is still in our hands

Technology reporter Karen Hao started reporting on artificial intelligence in 2018, before ChatGPT was introduced, and is one of the few journalists to gain access to the inner world of the chatbot’s creator, OpenAI. In her book Empire of AI, Hao outlines the rise of the controversial company.In her research, Hao spoke to OpenAI leaders, scientists and entry-level workers around the globe who are shaping the development of AI. She explores its potential for scientific discovery and its impacts on the environment, as well as the divisive quest to create a machine that can rival human smarts through artificial general intelligence (AGI).Scientific American spoke with Hao about her deep reporting on AI, Sam Altman’s potential place in AI’s future and the ways the technology might continue to change the world.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]How realistic is the goal of artificial general intelligence (AGI)?There is no scientific consensus around what intelligence is, so AI and AGI are inherently unmoored concepts. This is helpful for deflating the hype of Silicon Valley when they say AGI is around the corner, and it’s also helpful in recognizing that the lack of predetermination around what AI is and what it should do leaves plenty of room for everyone.You argue that we should be thinking about AI in terms of empires and colonialism. Can you explain why?I call companies like OpenAI empires both because of the sheer magnitude at which they are operating and the controlling influence they’ve developed—also the tactics for how they’ve accumulated an enormous amount of economic and political power. They amass that power through the dispossession of the majority of the rest of the world.There’s also this huge ideological component to the current AI industry. This quest for an artificial general intelligence is a faith-based idea. It's not a scientific idea. It is this quasi-religious notion that if we continue down a particular path of AI development, somehow a kind of AI god is going to emerge that will solve all of humanity's problems. Colonialism is the fusion of capitalism and ideology, so there’s just a multitude of parallels between the empires of old and the empires of AI.There’s also a parallel in how they both cause environmental destruction. Which environmental impacts of AI are most concerning?There are just so many intersecting crises that the AI industry’s path of development is exacerbating. One, of course, is the energy crisis. Sam Altman announced he wants to see 250 gigawatts of data-center capacity laid by 2033 just for his company. New York City [uses] on average 5.5 gigawatts [per day]. Altman has estimated that this would cost around $10 trillion —where is he going to get that money? Who knows.But if that were to come to pass, the primary energy sources would be fossil fuels. Business Insider had an investigation earlier this year that found that utilities are “torpedo[ing]” their renewable-energy goals in order to service the data-center demand. So we are seeing natural gas plants and coal plants having their lives extended. That’s not just pumping emissions into the atmosphere; it’s also pumping air pollution into communities.So the question is: How long are we going to deal with the actual harms and hold out for the speculative possibility that maybe, at the end of the road, it’s all going to be fine? There was a survey earlier this year that found that [roughly] 75 percent of long-standing AI researchers who are not in the pocket of industry do not think we are on the path to an artificial general intelligence. We should not be using a tiny possibility on the far-off horizon that is not even scientifically backed to justify an extraordinary and irreversible set of damages that are occurring right now.Do you think Sam Altman has lied about OpenAI’s abilities, or has he just fallen for his own marketing?It’s a great question. 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The Cooper family has worked in the coal industry in Colorado for generations

CRAIG, Colo. (AP) — The Cooper family knows how to work heavy machinery. The kids could run a hay baler by their early teens, and two of the three ran monster-sized drills at the coal mines along with their dad.But learning to maneuver the shiny red drill they use to tap into underground heat feels different. It's a critical part of the new family business, High Altitude Geothermal, which installs geothermal heat pumps that use the Earth’s constant temperature to heat and cool buildings. At stake is not just their livelihood but a century-long family legacy of producing energy in Moffat County.Like many families here, the Coopers have worked in coal for generations — and in oil before that. That's ending for Matt Cooper and his son Matthew as one of three coal mines in the area closes in a statewide shift to cleaner energy. “People have to start looking beyond coal," said Matt Cooper. "And that can be a multitude of things. Our economy has been so focused on coal and coal-fired power plants. And we need the diversity.” Many countries and about half of U.S. states are moving away from coal, citing environmental impacts and high costs. Burning coal emits carbon dioxide that traps heat in the atmosphere, warming the planet.That's created uncertainty in places like Craig. As some families like the Coopers plan for the next stage of their careers, others hold out hope Trump will save their plants, mines and high-paying jobs. Matt and Matthew Cooper work at the Colowyo Mine near Meeker, though active mining has ended and site cleanup begins in January.The mine employs about 130 workers and supplies Craig Generating Station, a 1,400-megawatt coal-fired plant. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association is planning to close Craig's Unit 1 by year's end for economic reasons and to meet legal requirements for reducing emissions. The other two units will close in 2028.Xcel Energy owns coal-fired Hayden Station, about 30 minutes away. It said it doesn't plan to change retirement dates for Hayden, though it's extending another coal unit in Pueblo in part due to increased demand for electricity.The Craig and Hayden plants together employ about 200 people.Craig residents have always been entrepreneurial and that spirit will get them through this transition, said Kirstie McPherson, board president for the Craig Chamber of Commerce. Still, she said, just about everybody here is connected to coal.“You have a whole community who has always been told you are an energy town, you’re a coal town," she said. “When that starts going away, beyond just the individuals that are having the identity crisis, you have an entire culture, an entire community that is also having that same crisis.”Coal has been central to Colorado’s economy since before statehood, but it's generally the most expensive energy on today's grid, said Democratic Gov. Jared Polis.“We are not going to let this administration drag us backwards into an overreliance on expensive fossil fuels,” Polis said in a statement. Nationwide, coal power was 28% more expensive in 2024 than it was in 2021, costing consumers $6.2 billion more, according to a June analysis from Energy Innovation. The nonpartisan think tank cited significant increases to run aging plants as well as inflation.Colorado’s six remaining coal-fired power plants are scheduled to close or convert to natural gas, which emits about half the carbon dioxide as coal, by 2031. The state is rapidly adding solar and wind that's cheaper and cleaner than legacy coal plants. Renewable energy provides more than 40% of Colorado’s power now and will pass 70% by the end of the decade, according to statewide utility plans.Nationwide, wind and solar growth has remained strong, producing more electricity than coal in 2025, as of the latest data in October, according to energy think tank Ember.But some states want to increase or at least maintain coal production. That includes top coal state Wyoming, where the Wyoming Energy Authority said Trump is breathing welcome new life into its coal and mining industry.The Coopers have gone all-in on geothermal. “Maybe we’ll never go back to coal," Matt Cooper said. "We haven’t (gone) back to oil and gas, so we might just be geothermal people for quite some time, maybe generations, and then eventually something else will come along.”While the Coopers were learning to use their drill in October, Wade Gerber was in downtown Craig distilling grain neutral spirits — used to make gin and vodka — on a day off from the Craig Station power plant. Gerber stepped over his corgis, Ali and Boss, and onto a stepladder to peer into a massive stainless steel pot where he was heating wheat and barley.Gerber's spent three decades in coal. When closure plans were announced four years ago, he, his wife Tenniel and their friend McPherson brainstormed business ideas.“With my background in plumbing and electrical from the plant it’s like, oh yeah, I can handle that part of it,” Gerber said about distilling. “This is the easy part.”He used Tri-State's education subsidies for classes in distilling, while other co-workers learned to fix vehicles or repair guns to find new careers. While some plan to leave town, Gerber is opening Bad Alibi Distillery. McPherson and Tenniel Gerber are opening a cocktail bar next door.Everyone in town hopes Trump will step in to extend the plant's life, Gerber said. Meanwhile, they're trying to define a new future for Craig in a nerve-wracking time.“For me, my products can go elsewhere. I don’t necessarily have to sell it in Craig, there’s that avenue. For someone relying on Craig, it's even scarier,” he said. Questioning the coal rollback Tammy Villard owns a gift shop, Moffat Mercantile, with her husband. After the coal closures were announced, they opened a commercial print shop too, seeing it as a practical choice for when so many high-paying jobs go away. Villard, who spent a decade at Colowyo as administrative staff, said she doesn't understand how the state can throw the switch to turn off coal and still have reliable electricity. She wants the state to slow down. Villard describes herself as a moderate Republican. She said political swings at the federal level — from the green energy push in the last administration to doubling down on fossil fuels in this one — aren't helpful.“The pendulum has to come back to the middle," she said, “and we are so far out to either side that I don’t know how we get back to that middle.”The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – Nov. 2025

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1803 Fund unveils renderings of $70 million investment for Portland’s Black community

Initial site work, including permitting, is expected to take roughly two years, with construction scheduled to take another two years after that.

The 1803 Fund, an organization working to advance Portland’s Black community, unveiled new renderings Tuesday for a combined ten acres it purchased on the banks of the Willamette River near the Moda Center and in the lower Albina neighborhood.The organization, formed in 2023 with a $400 million pledge from Nike co-founder Phil Knight and wife Penny Knight, said last month it was spending $70 million on several Eastside properties. It said the redevelopment of those sites would have a tenfold economic impact via the hundreds of local jobs it expects to generate. The total projected outlay for the redevelopment remains unclear.Project leaders say they expect initial site work for what they’re calling Rebuild Albina, including permitting, to take roughly two years, with construction scheduled to take another two years after that.At a Tuesday press conference, organization leaders detailed plans for two sites: a set of grain silos on three acres formerly owned by the Louis Dreyfus Co. and now called Albina Riverside; and a seven-acre property in the lower Albina neighborhood south of the Fremont Bridge and west of Interstate 5, in a district once known as The Low End.“We intend to give that name back to the community,” Rukaiyah Adams, chief executive of the 1803 Fund, said Tuesday of The Low End district, as a carousel of renderings flashed on a wide screen behind her.The group has said it wants to see those seven acres become a neighborhood gateway that connects the Black community to downtown. The Low End is slated to become a mixed-use neighborhood with housing and public spaces with art, businesses, culture and community initiatives, according to a factsheet provided by the 1803 Fund, while plans for Albina Riverside are still in the works. Still, the Albina Riverside renderings show a reuse of the grain silos, a basketball court and what appear to be community-access steps down to the waterfront.Properties in The Low End require environmental cleanup, which project officials say they are coordinating with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. It’s not clear at this point what environmental remediation the Albina Riverside site may need, officials said.On Tuesday, project leaders said $30 million went toward properties in The Low End, while they spent $5 million on Albina Riverside. Another $35 million in Albina-area property investments are forthcoming, according to the factsheet.Mayor Keith Wilson and City Council member Loretta Smith took turns at the lectern heaping praise on Adams for her leadership of the fund.Wilson said he was committed to supporting the 1803 Fund’s “transformational projects” as the redevelopment of Albina bolsters Portland’s broader renaissance. “I keep wanting to cry every time I look at you, Rukaiyah,” the mayor said. “It’s personal for me, and I know it is for you, as well.”Smith told attendees that whenever she travels to another city, there’s a district called The Low End where members of the Black community live and gather.“It had a stigma to it, and it does have a stigma to it,” Smith said. “Now you’re taking that stigma away and saying, come on down to Albina to The Low End. It’s a cool thing to do. So thank you very much for giving us back that history and that culture.”Retaking the stage, Adams said part of what prompted the purchase of the grain silo was stories she heard years ago from former state Sen. Avel Gordly – the first Black woman sworn into the Oregon Senate – of Black men who used to work and died in the silos.Gordly implored Adams to take more of a leadership role in helping to clean up the Willamette, Adams said. “The connection of Black folks who migrated here from watersheds in the Jim Crow South to that Willamette River watershed is deep and spiritual,” Adams said. “My family left the Red River watershed in Louisiana to come to the Willamette River watershed here. “Our stories are often told as the movement between cities, but we are a people deeply connected to the water,” she said. “We wade in the water.”--Matthew Kish contributed to this article.

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