Flash Flood — Anson, North Carolina
2018-09-15 to 2018-09-17 · near Burnsville, Anson, North Carolina
Event narrative
Torrential rainfall of 15 to 20 inches caused widespread flash flooding across the county. The heavy rains caused flash flooding on several creeks. Numerous roads were closed throughout the county. George Wright Road and Mayesville Road were washed out due to flooding. Water rescues were conducted in the city of Wadesboro, including a submerged car with National Guard assets. A 52 year old male was traveling on Peru Road and entered a curve where the road was washed out. The vehicle stalled in the water and was swept away. The driver was able to get himself to safety, the passenger was swept away.
Wider weather episode
A ridge of high pressure over eastern North America stalled Florence's forward motion a few miles off the southeast North Carolina coast on September 13th. Hurricane Florence made landfall near Wrightsville Beach early on Saturday September 15, and weakened further as it moved slowly inland. Despite making landfall as a weakened
Category 1 hurricane, Florence still produced 40 to 70 mph wind gusts, enough wind speed to uproot trees and cause widespread power outages throughout the Carolinas. As the storm moved inland, from September 15 to 17, heavy rain of 10 to 25 inches caused widespread inland flooding, inundating cities such as Fayetteville, Smithfield, Goldsboro, Durham, and Chapel Hill, and causing major river flooding on main-stem rivers such as the Neuse, Cape Fear, and Little River. Most major roads and highways in the area experienced some flooding, with large stretches of I-40 and I-95 remaining impassable for days after the storm had passed. The storm also spawned tornadoes in several places along its path. There were 3 direct and 6 indirect deaths attributed to the storm with in the WFO RAH CWA.
View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.1161, -80.2310)
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 786268. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.