Flash Flood, Caldwell
- When
- April 17, 1:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Caldwell County, Lenoir
- Coordinates
- 35.953, -81.546 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in North Carolina, April 17, 1998
Persistent thunderstorms in Caldwell county late on the 16th and into the 17th caused serious flash flooding during the early morning hours. Numerous evacuations took place, 10 homes and 1 business were flooded, water covered highways 321 and 18 and several mudslides occurred north of Collettesville.
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.
Persistent thunderstorms in Caldwell county late on the 16th and into the 17th caused serious flash flooding during the early morning hours. Numerous evacuations took place, 10 homes and 1 business were flooded, water covered highways 321 and 18 and several mudslides occurred north of Collettesville. The Yadkin River rose out of its banks and damaged 6 houses and 5 mobile homes.
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 134 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:01 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
- Flash Flood in Tennessee, April 17, 1998
- Tornado in Alabama, April 17, 1998
- Flooding in Kentucky, April 17 to 21, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Hail in South Carolina, April 17, 1998
- Flooding in Kentucky, April 17 to 24, 1998
- Tornado and Hail in Mississippi, April 17 to 18, 1998
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, April 17, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, April 17, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Alabama, April 17, 1998
- Flash Flood in Tennessee, April 17, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Mississippi, April 17, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, April 17, 1998
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, April 1998
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5643368.