Flood in Watauga County, North Carolina

The Watauga River near Foscoe, NC (FOSN7) crested at 9.10 feet at 10:35 AM EST on December 29th due to runoff from runoff of 1.75 to locally 2 inches during the early morning hours of the day. This gage was recently restored to service in the wake of Hurricane Helene, with the flood stage based on stream conditions in place before major flooding took place on the Watuaga River during Helene. No impacts were reported directly with this event, and flood stage may need to be adjusted based on observed flooding during future events.

A negatively-tilted trough passed from the western Gulf coast region early on the 29th northeast to the lower Ohio River Valley late in the day. This track resulted in strong southeasterly wind flow along the central Appalachians, carrying deep Atlantic moisture across the Blue Ridge on a 40 to 45 knot low level jet. Precipitable water values reached as high as 1.3 inches, which is around the 99th percentile for late December. A storm total rainfall amount of 1.5 to 2 inches was observed across the headwaters of the Watauga River, with locally higher amounts. Runoff from this rainfall caused brief and minor flooding of the Watauga River in Watauga County.