Debris Flow — Mcdowell, North Carolina

2013-05-06 · near Graphite, Mcdowell, North Carolina

Event narrative

A 32-year old man was killed when he was buried by debris from a landslide while inspecting a rail line in far western McDowell County.

Wider weather episode

A strong upper low slowly lifted northeast across the southern Appalachian Mountains over the 3 day period. While precipitable water values were not particularly strong with the low, a strong low level jet in advance of the system brought strong moisture transport and orographic ascent to the region, centered over the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. The hardest hit areas saw between 4 and 7 inches of rain over a two day period, resulting in a widespread duration flood event. Mainstem rivers and reservoirs were also significantly affected by prolonged period of heavy rain.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.6300, -82.2670)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 457715. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.