Flood — Wilkes, North Carolina

2024-01-09 · near Wilkesboro, Wilkes, North Carolina

Event narrative

The Yadkin River at Wilkesboro, NC (WKSN7), crested at 14.12 feet (11,500 cfs) at 5 pm EST on the 9th (09/2200 UTC) above the minor flood stage of 14.0 feet. The flooding was the result of between three and four inches of rain covering a large area of the headwaters, most of which fell between 2 am and 4 pm EST on the 9th. This is the 22nd-highest documented crest of this gage, and the highest since October 29, 2020. This event is less than a 2-year event (50% Annual Exceedance Probability) per USGS StreamStats. Portions of Wilkesboro Avenue in front of Midtown Plaza were flooded, as well as some of the businesses along the south side of that portion of Wilkesboro Avenue. Police blocked Wilkesboro Avenue from where it intersects with Wilkesboro Boulevard near the Yadkin River bridge to the intersection with Ninth Street.

Wider weather episode

A deep, negatively tilted upper level trough and associated occluded front passed from the central Mississippi River Valley on January 9th toward the lower New England region by the morning of the 10th. Strong southerly wind flow ahead of the upper trough carried deep moisture from the Gulf of Mexico northward into the Carolinas and the lower Mid-Atlantic. Precipitable water values ranged from 1.2 inches to nearly 1.5 inches across northwest North Carolina by early afternoon on the 9th, or anywhere between two and three standard deviations above normal for January. Precipitation fell mainly as rain during a 12 to 15 hour period on the 9th, mostly at rates of a half inch per hour or less. However, a convective band pushed across the foothills and Piedmont off North Carolina during the afternoon, producing rates of locally two inches per hour. Rainfall totals varied from around 2 inches to locally in excess of 4 inches for the northwest portion of the state, with the highest totals occurring along the crest of the Blue Ridge, as well as across the foothills. These amounts ranged mainly between 2-year and 5-year average recurrence intervals for a 12 hour duration per NOAA Atlas 14 Point Precipitation Frequency estimates. Given that multiple precipitation events, having passed across the region since late November 2023, had allowed stream flows and soil moisture to improve from Severe Drought conditions, the region was more susceptible to flooding. The long-duration rainfall event allowed streams to rise gradually, making for numerous instances of mainly minor areal and riverine flooding. However, flash flooding occurred across the Piedmont in the wake of the convective band. Multiple roads and bridges were reported flooded and impassible because of the rainfall, with a few becoming damaged.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.1520, -81.1464)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1157251. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.