Flash Flood in Spartanburg County, South Carolina

Stream gauges across the Pacolet River basin indicated flash flooding developed after 10-15 inches of rain fell across northern Spartanburg County over three days, with even heavier rainfall occurring over the headwaters in the mountains. The North Pacolet inundated several roads in the north part of the county, including Highway 14, roads near the water treatment plant. Several tributaries of also overflowed their banks, including Buck Creek, which inundated several secondary roads, and Lawsons Fork Creek in Spartanburg, which overflowed onto Heathwood Dr and Lake Forest Dr, as well as at least one private drive. Additionally, the South Pacolet flooded areas of Depot St and Highway 11 in Campobello, while backwater effects into Motlow Creek caused inundation of Old Mill Rd. Other tributaries flooded throughout the norther part of the county, including a tributary of Dillard Creek, which flooded East Howell Rd in Greer. An 88-year-old male was killed when his vehicle was submerged in floodwater near Landrum.

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 event over the mountains and portions of the foothills. 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 very heavy rainfall and significant 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 90 mph across the higher elevations combined with saturated soils to produce widespread damage to trees and electrical infrastructure. 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.