North Carolina, 2001Flash Flood in North Carolina, July 30, 2001
July 30, 2001 · NWS GSP · 1 event in 1 county or zone
A series of classic flash floods developed across the higher terrain of northern and central Madison County over the weekend of the 29th and 30th. Strong, southeast upslope flow with an Atlantic tropical trajectory clashed with abundant tropical moisture streaming in from the south and west, thus anchoring cells over the same areas for several hours in a very light mean wind flow.
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
Open the live radar over this ground
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $100,000
- Crop damage
- $2.5 million
- 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.
A series of classic flash floods developed across the higher terrain of northern and central Madison County over the weekend of the 29th and 30th. Strong, southeast upslope flow with an Atlantic tropical trajectory clashed with abundant tropical moisture streaming in from the south and west, thus anchoring cells over the same areas for several hours in a very light mean wind flow.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 30, 2:30 AM EST, 2 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 30, 2:30 AM EST, 2 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
330 AM EDT MON JUL 30 2001
SURFACE ANALYSIS DEPICTS FRONTAL BOUNDARY EXTENDING ACROSS WRN NC
FROM SFC LOW CENTER NEAR THE VA CAPES. EARLY MORNING SHOWERS CONT TO
TRAIN ACROSS THE NORTHERN NC MOUNTAINS IN VICINITY OF FRONT AND AHEAD
OF WEAK 500 MB SHORTWAVE FORCING. ANOTHER 500 MB VORT MAX WILL BRING
DPVA TO THE AREA AFTER 18Z THIS AFTN...BUT TIME SECTIONS SHOW
SIGNIFICANT MID LEVEL DRYING AND MODEL SOUNDINGS INDICATE A
PROMINENT WARM NOSE TO HELP CAP CONVECTION. PROB BEST CHANCE WILL BE
OVER SW LATER THIS AFTN WITH MAX HEATING...WEAK LOW LEVEL
CONVERGENCE NEAR FRONT AND UPPER SUPPORT. HIGH THETA E LAPSE RATES
THIS AFTN COULD MAKE ANY CONVECTION THAT CAN BREAK THE CAP STRONG IN
THAT AREA.
WILL RELEGATE POPS TO AFTERNOON IN SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL PIEDMONT...
AND MENTION ALL DAY IN MOUNTAINS AND NORTHERN TIER WHERE ACTIVITY IS
ONGOING/UPSTREAM. WILL PROB NEED TO ASSESS POPS UP TO ISSUANCE
TIME...BUT HIGH CHC TO LIKELY MAY BE NEEDED FROM MADISON COUNTY
NORTHWARD.
SFC AND UPPER RIDGING DOMINATES THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE SHORT
TERM...WITH ONLY FLY IN THE OINTMENT THE DEGREE OF UPSLOPE AND
MOISTURE TONIGHT INTO EARLY TUE. PROB NOT ENOUGH TO MENTION ANY
POPS...BUT WILL WORD SKY COVER MOSTLY CLOUDY TONIGHT. TEMPS STEADILY
REBOUND THROUGH THE WEEK UNDER INFLUENCE OF UPPER RIDGE UNTIL FRI
SHORTWAVE DIGS NEXT EAST COAST TROUGH BY THE END OF THE WEEK.
FCSTID = 33
GSP 90 68 88 68 / 30 20 10 10
AND 90 68 89 68 / 30 20 10 10
CLT 88 66 87 66 / 30 10 10 10
HKY 86 64 85 63 / 30 10 10 10
AVL 84 63 82 63 / 30 20 10 10
.GSP...
GA...NONE.
NC...NONE.
SC...NONE.
HG
Flash Flood, Madison
- When
- July 30, 4:30 AM EST
- Where
- Madison County, 3 mi N of Marshall
- Property damage
- $100,000
- Crop damage
- $2.5 million
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 35.858, -82.706 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Another round of heavy rain brought Big Laurel creek out of its banks again. A house trailer was damaged this time, and parts of highways 19 and 23 leading into Yancey County were washed away or closed because of water, sand and debris. Bridges and roads were still closed in many of these same areas from flooding the day before. The Jarrett Cove bridge, which crosses Big Laurel, washed away between 430 AM EST and 515 AM EST.
- 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.
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Tennessee, July 30, 20016 injured · $26,000 · 2 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, July 30, 2001$78,000 · 1 in hail · 12 events
- Heat in Minnesota, July 30 to 31, 200142 events
- Damaging Wind in South Dakota, July 30, 2001$50,000 · 75 kt wind · 1 event
- Damaging Wind in South Dakota, July 30, 2001$50,000 · 61 kt wind · 1 event
- Hail in North Dakota, July 30, 20011.5 in hail · 17 events
- Damaging Wind in New Mexico, July 30, 2001$20,000 · 1 event
- Dense Fog in Wisconsin, July 30, 200112 events
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, July 30, 2001$13,000 · 5 events
- Damaging Winds in South Dakota, July 30, 200170 kt wind · 8 events
- High Surf in Hawaii, July 30 to 31, 20016 events
- Damaging Winds in Kansas, July 30, 200152 kt wind · 3 events
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: 5261049.