Abstract Extreme precipitation events can rapidly reshape mountain landscapes, even in tectonically inactive regions like the Southern Appalachians. Here, we illustrate how discrete storm events drive rapid geomorphic change with a repeat‐lidar analysis of impacts from Hurricane Helene (September 2024) in the Hickory Nut Gorge, North Carolina, USA. Airborne lidar collected before and after Helene reveals characteristic patterns of landslide initiation, sediment delivery, and river channel evolution. Our observations augment the current understanding of landslide reactivation, highlight debris flows as a key process of coarse sediment transport, and demonstrate how episodic flooding can reshape river channel geometry and roughness. Geomorphic signatures of extreme events quickly obscure as vegetation regrows and infrastructure is repaired, underscoring the need for both pre‐event and rapid postevent lidar to detect and quantify change. Together, these insights clarify how infrequent, high‐intensity storms drive both immediate landscape change and long‐term geomorphic evolution in steep mountain terrain.
Das et al. (2026) studied this question.
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