Flood in Watauga County, North Carolina

The Watauga River near Sugar Grove, NC (SGWN7), crested at 8.02 feet (3,537 cfs) at 1:15 pm EST on the 29th above the flood stage of 6.0 feet. The flooding was the result of between 1.75 and locally 2 inches of rain falling across the headwaters, most of which fell between 6 am and 10 am EST on the 29th. This is the highest crest since Hurricane Helene in late September 2024. No impacts were reported directly with this event, with concern that the major flooding associated with Helene may have changed stream conditions within the river.

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.