Flood — Gaston, North Carolina

2019-06-09 to 2019-06-10 · near Duke Power Vlg, Gaston, North Carolina

Event narrative

A dam pool stage gauge reported and emergency manager confirmed flooding of the Catawba River upstream of the Mountain Island Lake dam occurred after widespread rainfall amounts of 4 to 7 inches fell within the basin across the northern foothills, with much of that falling over the course of several hours. Numerous homes were inundated with flood water along such roads as Riverside Dr, Fox Ridge Ln, and several roads in the Nivens Cove area. Several homes were judged to be a total loss. Several people also had to be rescued from their homes during peak flow. The pool elevation behind the dam peaked at just under 107 ft during the early morning hours of the 10th, which was its highest level since August 1940.

Wider weather episode

A moist upslope flow developing north of a stationary front resulted in widespread showers and thunderstorms developing across western North Carolina during the evening of the 8th into the overnight and early morning hours of the ninth. Four to seven inches of rain, with locally higher amounts of 10 inches or more falling over the northern foothills resulted in flash flooding in multiple areas. The widespread nature of the excessive rainfall within the Catawba River watershed caused the river to rise to levels not seen in almost 80 years in the western Piedmont, with flooding persisting in some areas through the 10th. Meanwhile, a brief, weak tornado developed across Rutherford County.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.3570, -80.9410)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 841023. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.