Flash Flood in Catawba County, North Carolina

The event started with several streets flooded in Hickory. Over the next couple hours numerous roads and even several homes were flooded in western Catawba County as extremely heavy rain continued to fall. In excess of 10 inches of rain was measured in this area.

Thunderstorms repeatedly moved across the same areas over the North Carolina foothills, causing a high impact flash flood event over Catawba, Lincoln and Cleveland counties. In Catawba County alone, between 50 and 60 roads were closed at the height of the event. Several roads were heavily damaged and would take months to repair. Over 400 structures sustained some amount of damage in the county, with 72 heavily damaged or destroyed. A trained spotter in western Catawba County reported 11.31 of rain in a four hour period.