Flash Flood in Burke County, North Carolina

Stream gauges and emergency management indicated catastrophic flash flooding developed across portions of Burke County, mainly central and northern sections after 7-13 inches of rain fell across much of the county in three days, with some amounts over 20 inches reported in the Jonas Ridge area. Major flooding developed along multiple tributaries of the Catawba River, including Johns River, Linville River, Hunting Creek in Morganton, Lower Creek, and upper reaches of the Catawba River itself. A water level gauge at Bridgewater Dam on Lake James exceeded its record crest by more than four feet. Another gauge on Johns River north of Morganton exceeded 30 feet, which was the highest crest in the gauges history, breaking the old record of 28.6 feet (both records occurred during Hurricane Frances, 2004). Numerous homes were inundated throughout the area, particularly along the Catawba River, and dozens of homes were completely swept away. Swift water rescues were reported along the Linville River. Otherwise, numerous roads were inundated and damaged or destroyed throughout this part of the county. Several landslides were discovered in the higher terrain, primarily in remote areas of the Linville Gorge Wilderness and in the Jonas Ridge area.

Tropical Cyclone Helene began organizing over the western Caribbean on the 23rd and 24th of September before rapidly intensifying as it moved north through the eastern Gulf of Mexico on the 25th and 26th. A plume of moisture extending from the intensifying storm interacted with a slow-moving cold front to produce a band of widespread heavy rain showers and embedded scattered thunderstorms over the southern Appalachians and vicinity on the 25th and 26th, resulting in a predecessor heavy rainfall and flash flooding event over these areas. Helene made landfall in the Florida Big Bend and moved quickly N/NE through Georgia before turning toward the N/NW once the remnant center reached northeast Georgia. Tropical rainbands around the center of Helene swept over areas with already-saturated soils over the mountains and foothills during the early morning of the 27th, resulting in extreme rainfall and record, catastrophic flash flooding across multiple basins with headwaters near the Blue Ridge escarpment. Due to its quick movement, Helene was still a strong tropical storm when the wind field reached the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia. Frequent wind gusts of 55 to 70 mph, with occasional gusts of 80 mph...and likely as high as 100 mph across the higher elevations combined with saturated soils to produce widespread damage to trees and electrical infrastructure. Across the mountains, some east and southeast-facing slopes above 3000 feet saw canopy-loss of 80% or more. Hundreds of trees fell on houses, vehicles, and power lines throughout the area, resulting in several fatalities. Almost all customers in several counties lost power for at least a brief period. Most people were without power for at least a couple of days, while thousands were without power for a week or more.