Flash Flood — Ashe, North Carolina

2024-05-26 · near Smethport, Ashe, North Carolina

Event narrative

A YouTube video captured by storm chasers depicts multiple roads flooded by at least six inches of flowing water in the town of West Jefferson, including N. Jefferson Avenue, and W. Main Street. A small creek running under N. 6th Avenue near Badger Funeral Home was flooded one to two feet out of its banks, making the road impassible. Some vehicles became trapped on the flooded roads, with the occupants requiring swift water rescue assistance to escape to higher ground.

Wider weather episode

Flash flooding was observed across central Ashe County, including in the Towns of West Jefferson and Warrensville, due to heavy runoff from about three inches of rain falling within one hour per multiple personal weather stations within the area. The three inches of rain during one hour has between a 50 and a 100-year ARI (Average Recurrence Interval) per NOAA Atlas 14 Point Precipitation Frequency estimates. Rainfall rates from personal weather stations in the area were measured at times to be anywhere from three to as high as six inches per hour. On Tuesday, June 18, 2024, NC Governor Roy Cooper signed a state disaster declaration for the town of West Jefferson that suffered damages this event.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.4238, -81.5039)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1176075. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.