Flash Flood — Alleghany, North Carolina

2023-08-06 · near Peden, Alleghany, North Carolina

Event narrative

About 6 inches of water was observed flooding over Allen Road near the intersection with Topia Road, most likely caused by Prathers Creek rising out of its banks due to 3 to 5 inches of rain falling within a 2 hour period at rates of up to 5 inches per hour. No damage was reported to the road, and it was reopened to traffic after the flooding receded.

Wider weather episode

Showers and thunderstorms developed across northwest North Carolina to the south of a stationary front draped across northern Virginia into central West Virginia. By early afternoon, a surface trough had developed along the lee side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, providing the lower atmospheric convergence needed to aid in thunderstorm development. A couple of the storms increased to severe levels and produced damaging winds which downed trees, while flash flooding occurred with one slow-moving storm that produced an estimated 4 to 5 inches of rainfall within a 2-hour period.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.4993, -81.3091)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1131402. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.