Flash Flood, Mecklenburg
- When
- July 23, 1:30 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
- Where
- Mecklenburg County, Countywide
- Deaths
- 3 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $8.5 million
- Coordinates
- 35.247, -80.833 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flooding and Lightning Strikes in North Carolina, July 23, 1997
A cluster of thunderstorms producing very heavy rain sank south in the Charlotte metro area shortly before midnight of the 23rd and continued to redevelop over the area through mid-morning. Severe flash flooding resulted as nearly 10 inches of rain fell in some spots.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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
- 3
- Injuries
- 4
- Property damage
- $12 million
- Crop damage
- $2.0 million
- Events
- 5
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.
A cluster of thunderstorms producing very heavy rain sank south in the Charlotte metro area shortly before midnight of the 23rd and continued to redevelop over the area through mid-morning. Severe flash flooding resulted as nearly 10 inches of rain fell in some spots. Mecklenburg county officials requested that people not try to go to work or drive around. Numerous roads and bridges were washed out or damaged. A railroad trestle collapsed, dropping a locomotive 100 feet into a raging creek. Two women died after their vehicles became trapped in flood waters around 2 AM EST. A young girl perished around 9 AM EST when she went to play in the waters and was swept away. In Cabarrus county, 3 of the 4 injuries occurred when a plant roof collapsed due to the weight of the rain water. The fourth injury occurred in Mount Pleasant when a person drove into a wash-out.
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 133 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:28 UTC.
Event by event
3 flash flood, 2 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash Flood, Cabarrus
- When
- July 23, 1:40 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
- Where
- Cabarrus County, Countywide
- Injuries
- 4 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $3.0 million
- Crop damage
- $2.0 million
- Coordinates
- 35.387, -80.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning, Gaston
- When
- July 23, 1:40 AM EST
- Where
- Gaston County, Gastonia
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Coordinates
- 35.294, -81.180 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning started a fire in the attic of a house.
Lightning, Mecklenburg
- When
- July 23, 3:00 AM EST
- Where
- Mecklenburg County, Charlotte
- Property damage
- $100,000
- Coordinates
- 35.247, -80.833 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning struck a home in north Charlotte.
Flash Flood, Rowan
- When
- July 23, 7:00 AM EST to 11:00 AM EST
- Where
- Rowan County, Spencer
- Coordinates
- 35.640, -80.525 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood, Mecklenburg | 1997-07-23 | 59 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| Flash Flood, Mecklenburg | 1997-07-23 | 5 | Female | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
| Flash Flood, Mecklenburg | 1997-07-23 | 27 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
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.
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, July 23 to 27, 1997
- Flash Flood in Colorado, July 23, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Arkansas, July 23, 1997
- Flooding in North Dakota, July 23, 1997
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in South Carolina, July 23 to 24, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Missouri, July 23, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Missouri, July 23 to 27, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Georgia, July 23, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Nebraska, July 23, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Alabama, July 23, 1997
- Flash Flooding in West Virginia, July 23, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Alabama, July 23, 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: 5609226, 5609227, 5609229, 5609230, 5609228.