Flash Flood — Watauga, North Carolina

2024-09-25 · near Perkinsville, Watauga, North Carolina

Event narrative

Water at least six inches deep was observed flowing across N.C. Highway 194 South, making the road impassible until the water receded. No damage was reported to the road during this event.

Wider weather episode

A nearly stationary front that extended south from West Virginia into Western Virginia and North Carolina Piedmont served as the focus for thunderstorm development during the afternoon of September 25. Some clearing allowed for an increase in instability, but not quite enough to support widespread severe thunderstorms. Favorable upper level divergence was also present over the area as an upper low closed off over the Middle Mississippi Valley, and allowed for scattered storms to strengthen and cause isolated instances of wind damage and a tornado in Watauga county, which was only the fourth ever recorded since 1950. Southeasterly windflow around high pressure off the Atlantic coast brought deep moisture to the central Appalachians, which supported heavy rain within the thunderstorms. Some storms produced rainfall rates of three to four inches per hour, and passed repeatedly over the same locations.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.2386, -81.6559)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1218903. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.