These storms remind me a bit of some of the bigger storms of the 60s and early 70s. Especially Helene was reminiscent of Agnes, lots of rain and flooding of SW and South Central Virginia. The intensity seems worth, more storms reaching CAT 4 and 5.
Tornadoes have been an outgrowth of the Tropical storms for as long as I remember. Throw in the fact that many of the areas that were mostly rural 30, 40, 50 years ago have seen large population growth and the water has no where to go.