Flood Advisory issued for Nashville

A flood warning has been issued for parts of Middle Tennessee as the remnants of Tropical Storm Helene brought heavy rainfall to the region on Friday. Follow live updates here.

The weather service said Helene made landfall in southern Georgia Friday morning, with an initial band of precipitation spreading across nearly all of Middle Tennessee. Helene is expected to turn northwest and reach the northern Cumberland Plateau area as a weakening depression Friday afternoon and evening.

The weather service said wind speeds would increase as the depression moved toward the plateau, gusting as high as 35 miles per hour.

Helene in Tennessee: Track flood warnings, power outages and severe weather damage reports

School closures: Middle Tennessee schools canceled classes Friday because of Helene’s impact

On Friday morning, a WeGo Star passenger train struck a tree that appeared to have fallen on the tracks near the Hermitage train station in Davidson County while en route to Nashville, according to WeGo Public Transit.

No injuries were reported while passengers were picked up by bus to complete their commute.

The remainder of WeGo Star’s morning service is canceled, said Eric Melcher, WeGo’s public information officer. The train is expected to run as normal this afternoon.

The Tennessean will provide additional information as details become available.

Andy Humbles

The weather service has issued a flood warning for many Middle Tennessee counties due to expected excessive rainfall.

A flood watch is in effect for Davidson, Rutherford, Williamson and Wilson counties until 8:30 a.m. Friday. A flood watch is in effect for De Kalb, Smith and Wilson counties until 9 a.m. Friday. A flood watch is in effect for Coffee, Grundy and Warren counties until 10 a.m. Friday. A flood watch is in effect for Bedford, Cannon, Cheatham, Davidson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson counties until 12:30 a.m. Friday.

The entire Middle Tennessee region remains under a flood watch until Saturday morning. The weather service said rainfall totals expected range from two to five inches.

Diana Leyva