Flash Flood — Wilkes, North Carolina

2024-09-27 to 2024-09-28 · near Darby, Wilkes, North Carolina

Event narrative

The Wilkes County 911 Dispatch Center received several reports of water flowing several inches deep across roads and bridges throughout the western half of the county as rounds of heavy rain continue to pass across the area. With seven to ten inches of rain occurring on the 26th, creeks are already swollen and soils are saturated. Even brief periods of heavy rain have resulted in rivers rapidly flowing out of their banks and roads becoming flooded and impassible. A swift water rescue was required for two occupants of a vehicle trapped in flood waters along Roaring River Road near Tyson Feed Mill. Cub Creek was also observed rising out of its banks Friday morning, covering nearly all of Cub Creek Park. Some of the roads that were observed flooded and impassible during the morning and afternoon of the 27th include: Shumate Mountain Road, Mertie Road, Cane Creek Church Road, Vannoy Road, Colvard Road, W. Country Club Drive, Casper Hawkins Road, Avery Anderson Road, Lee Mountain Road, Twin Locust Road, Arbor Grove Church Road, Moxley Road, Sandy Creek Road, Elk Creek Road, Dehart Church Road, Reservoir Road, Glenn Carlton Road, and Highway 268.

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a powerful Category 4 hurricane late Thursday, September 26, and moved quickly northward into the southeastern states, and then turned slightly northwestward towards the southern Appalachian Mountains overnight into Friday morning, weakening as it moved over land. Helene's intensity and fast forward motion led to impacts being felt well inland, from the Florida Big Bend area into the Appalachians, and there was extensive damage in northwest North Carolina. Widespread cellular service and power outages, some lasting for several days, occurred as high winds downed thousands of trees across the region. While there were widespread wind gusts 50 to 60 MPH, pockets of wind gusts measured 85 to 91 MPH contributed to several swaths of widespread wind damage in the northwest North Carolina mountains. There were three confirmed tornadoes associated with the remnants of Hurricane Helene in nnrthwest North Carolina.

Flooding impacts from Hurricane Helene were extensive across the area, and were exacerbated by a predecessor rainfall event that occurred a few days before Helene reached the region, which brought six to eight inches of rain to the mountains prior to the arrival of the remnants of Helene. The three day rainfall totals associated with the remnants of Hurricane Helene were highest along the mountains of northwest North Carolina, where observations of 20 to 21 inches of rain were recorded. A cooperative observer in Sparta, North Carolina reported over 17 inches of rain over three days. The Piedmont of North Carolina received much less rain, between one and two inches, with a couple areas around three inches.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.1135, -81.5073)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1219129. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.