Flash Flood — Ashe, North Carolina

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

Event narrative

Multiple roads just south of the Town of Warrensville were flooded and impassible by heavy rainfall accumulations of between 2 and 3 inches during a 60 to 90 minute period. This included Highway 88. No damage was reported in the Warrensville area during this heavy rain event.

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 → (36.4515, -81.5294)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1176475. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.