Flash Flood, Stanly
- When
- July 22, 11:33 PM EST to July 23, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Stanly County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 35.312, -80.251 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flooding in North Carolina, July 22 to 23, 1997
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED OVER THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT ON THE 22ND AND CONTINUED UNTIL AROUND SUNRISE ON THE 23 RD. THE THUNDERSTORMS MOVED LITTLE AFTER THEY DEVELOPED AND TRAINED OVER THE SAME LOCATIONS.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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
- 7
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 RAH wrote it up.
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED OVER THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT ON THE 22ND AND CONTINUED UNTIL AROUND SUNRISE ON THE 23 RD. THE THUNDERSTORMS MOVED LITTLE AFTER THEY DEVELOPED AND TRAINED OVER THE SAME LOCATIONS. THE HARDEST HIT AREAS WERE EXTREME SOUTHERN DAVIDSON, SOUTHWEST RANDOLPH , STANLY, MONTGOMERY, MOORE, AND INTO WESTERN HARNETT AND LEE COUNTIES. THESE STORMS DUMPED BETWEEN 5 AND 10 INCHES OF RAIN CENTERED OVER STANLY COUNTY AND MONTGOMERY COUNTIES. WIDESPREAD FLOODING CAUSED NUMEROUS ROAD CLOSURES THROUGHOUT THESE AREAS. SEVERAL BRIDGES WERE OVERCOME BY THE WATER FOR SEVERAL HOURS AND HAD TO BE CLOSED. CROP DAMAGE WAS SEVERE IN STANLY, MONTGOMERY, MOORE, AND SOUTHWEST RANDOLPH COUNTIES. BUSINESSES WERE FLOODED IN ALBEMARLE AND RICHFIELD.THESE STORMS DEVELOPED AHEAD OF THE REMNANTS OF ONCE HURRICANE DANNY THAT WAS STILL OVER GEORGIA AT THE TIME. A WEAK COLD FRONT MOVED INTO SOUTHERN NORTH CAROLINA FROM THE NORTH OVERNIGHT AND BECAME STATIONARY. THIS HELPED TO FOCUS THE STORMS IN THE SAME AREAS AND DUE TO A VERY WEAK WIND ALOFT, TRAINING OF STORMS AIDED IN THE WIDESPREAD FLOODING.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
7 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash Flood, Harnett
- When
- July 23, 1:22 AM EST to 5:45 AM EST
- Where
- Harnett County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 35.369, -78.869 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Moore
- When
- July 23, 1:22 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Moore County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 35.311, -79.481 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Lee
- When
- July 23, 1:36 AM EST to 5:45 AM EST
- Where
- Lee County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 35.475, -79.171 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Davidson
- When
- July 23, 2:21 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Davidson County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 35.793, -80.213 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Montgomery
- When
- July 23, 2:21 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Montgomery County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 35.333, -79.905 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Randolph
- When
- July 23, 8:12 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Randolph County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 35.710, -79.806 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
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
- Flash Flood and Hail in Nebraska, July 22, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Ohio, July 22, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Georgia, July 22, 1997
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strikes in Texas, July 22, 1997
- Flash Flood in Iowa, July 22, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Arkansas, July 22, 1997
- Flash Flood in North Carolina, July 22, 1997
- Hail in South Dakota, July 22, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Colorado, July 22, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, July 22, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Oklahoma, July 22, 1997
- Flash Flood in Alabama, July 22, 1997
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, July 1997
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: 5615067, 5615068, 5615069, 5615071, 5615070, 5615072, 5615073.