Flood — Gaston, North Carolina

2019-06-09 to 2019-06-11 · near Spencer Mtn, Gaston, North Carolina

Event narrative

A stream gauge on the South Fork Catawba River at Lowell exceeded its established flood stage after heavy rain fell throughout the Catawba River basin on the 8th and 9th. The stream eventually reached moderate flood stage on the 10th. Multiple roads flooded along the river in Cramerton and McAdenville. Media reported a 14-year-old boy drowned when he went swimming in the swollen river in the area around the Stanley-Spencer Mountain Rd bridge during the evening of the 10th.

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 → (35.3220, -81.1340)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 856768. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.