Flash Flood, Polk
- When
- September 4, 11:30 PM EST to September 5, 1:00 AM EST
- Where
- Polk County, 5 mi S of Lake Lure
- Coordinates
- 35.279, -82.170 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in North Carolina, September 4 to 5, 1996
Classic flash flooding developed rapidly during the evening as stationary thunderstorms dumped between 10 and 15 inches of rain in a small area of the "Hickory Nut Gorge". A wall of water rushed down the valley of the Rocky Broad River carrying campsites, RVs, mobile homes, trees and debris downstream.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.
Classic flash flooding developed rapidly during the evening as stationary thunderstorms dumped between 10 and 15 inches of rain in a small area of the "Hickory Nut Gorge". A wall of water rushed down the valley of the Rocky Broad River carrying campsites, RVs, mobile homes, trees and debris downstream. Mudslides caused some buildings to be swept into the current. Debris and trash filled the lake for days. Areas below the Lake Lure dam in Polk county flooded and evacuations were required. The only reported injury was where a house collapsed from mudslides near Bat Cave.
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 44 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:27 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Hurricane in North Carolina, September 4 to 6, 1996
- Flash Flood in North Carolina, September 4, 1996
- Flash Flood in North Carolina, September 4, 1996
- Hail in North Dakota, September 4, 1996
- Flash Flood in North Carolina, September 4, 1996
- Flooding in Virginia, September 4 to 11, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, September 4, 1996
- Hail in North Dakota, September 4, 1996
- Flash Flood in California, September 4, 1996
- Hail in North Dakota, September 4, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, September 4, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, September 4, 1996
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, September 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5574316.