Flood — Harnett, North Carolina

2018-09-17 to 2018-09-21 · near Johnsonville, Harnett, North Carolina

Event narrative

Torrential rainfall of 10 to 15 inches caused widespread flooding across the county. Additional heavy rainfall upstream caused moderate flooding along the Cape River Basin. The river reached the patio of the Mermaid Point restaurant at its initial crest. Flooding damaged approximately 285 structures throughout the county, destroying 10 and resulting in over $7.58 million in property damage. Crop damages were at least $20 million. Numerous streets and roads were flooded, some sustaining structural damage.

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 → (35.2713, -79.2278)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 787181. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.