Tropical Storm — Pitt, North Carolina

2016-10-08 to 2016-10-09 · Pitt, North Carolina

Event narrative

Widespread heavy rain and strong winds developed over the region from the afternoon of October 8th through the morning of October 9th. Rainfall was generally 7 to 11 inches over the county with a storm total of 10.74 inches reported in Farmville. The heavy rainfall produced significant flash flooding with many roads washed out. One fatality occurred when a car drove into flood waters during the early morning hours of October 9th east of Greenville. Devastating river flooding developed along the Tar River days after the rainfall ended. The Tar River crested at 24.46 feet at Greenville in major flood well above the 13 foot flood stage. Many homes and businesses were flooded and damaged with numerous roads closed for days. Gusty north winds developed on the backside of Matthew with a peak wind gust of 59 mph recorded at the Greenville Airport at 745 pm on October 8th. The gusty winds combined with saturated ground led to many downed trees with widespread power outages.

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Matthew moved northeast offshore of the North Carolina coast late on October 8th through October 9th. Widespread heavy rain developed on October 8th and continued through early on October 9th as Matthew approached and moved offshore of the coast. Rainfall ranged from 2 to 4 inches on the southern beaches to 8 to 12 inches inland. This rain led to significant flash flooding over much of eastern North Carolina during the afternoon of October 8th through the morning of October 9th. Many roads were washed out and impassable for days from the serious flash flooding. Devastating river flooding then occurred several days after Matthew as most main-stem rivers exceeded major flood levels. Strong winds of 40 to 60 mph inland and 60 to 80 mph along the coast occurred as Matthew passed offshore mainly during the evening of October 8th through the morning of the 9th. These winds led to numerous downed trees and power lines across the region with widespread power outages that lasted several days in some areas. Storm surge inundation was mainly 1 to 3 feet above ground level along the coast, however inundation of 3 to 5 feet above ground level was observed on the sound side of the Outer Banks.

There were six confirmed fatalities across the area with five in Lenoir County and one in Pitt County. Dollar damages totals have not been completed but will likely exceed 200 million dollars with significant agricultural losses.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 663637. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.