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Flood in Orange County, North Carolina

Flood September 17, 2018 – September 19, 2018 · Orange County, North Carolina

$26.4M
Damage as recorded
$5.0M
Crop damage

Where the report was made, with tornadoes recorded within 15 miles over the years.

What the National Weather Service wrote

Torrential rainfall of 6 to 10 inches caused widespread flooding across the county, which caused flooding along the Eno River and other creeks and streams throughout the county. Additionally, water held in Jordan Lake from rainfall in its headwaters resulted in flooding along the lake into far southeast portions of the county. Flooding damaged approximately 276 structures throughout the county, destroying 1 and resulting in $26.4 million in property damage. Numerous roads were closed due to flooding. Numerous homes and businesses were flooded as well. While final losses on crops are not yet tallied, estimates around $5 million or more are possible.

The wider storm

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.

Began near Teer (35.8561, -79.2494).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

3 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 787721. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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