Flash Flood in North Carolina, September 10, 2001

Name: Flash Flood in North Carolina, September 10, 2001
Start: 2001-09-10T18:15
End: 2001-09-10T20:00
Location: North Carolina

September 10, 2001 · NWS RAH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 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 Raleigh, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 10, 5:00 PM EST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 10, 5:00 PM EST, 1 hour 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
600 PM EDT MON SEP 10 2001

******UPDATED********
MSAS PLOTS DEPICT SLIGHTLY TO MODERATELY UNSTABLE AIRMASS OVER LARGE
CHUNK OF FA.  HAVE NOTICED A GRADUAL INCREASE IN LIGHTNING ACTIVITY
SINCE 2000 UTC...ESPECIALLY ACROSS NORTHERN HALF OF CENTRAL NC.
WITH SURFACE FRONT TO OUR NW...COULD SEE ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOPMENT THIS EVENING ACROSS THE NORTH HALF.  THUS HAVE UPDATED
ZONE FORECAST TO MENTION THUNDER ACROSS THE NORTH.  WSS
**********************

CURRENTLY...SCATTERED CONVECTION OVER NORTHERN PIEDMONT/COASTAL
PLAIN WAS TRIGGERED BY SURFACE HEATING. EXCEPT FOR ONE CELL OVER
SOUTHERN SAMPSON COUNTY CONVECTION IS LOW TOPPED WITH NO LIGHTNING
DETECTED. THIS OBSERVATION IS SUPPORTED BY FLAT CU FIELD OUTSIDE
WINDOW. BROKEN LINE OF SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH SURFACE FRONT/MID
LEVEL SHEAR AXIS MOVING INTO NORTH CAROLINA FOOTHILLS ALSO APPEARS
WEAK.

SHORT TERM...MODELS ARE IN AGREEMENT IN PUSHING MID/UPPER LEVEL
TROUGH AND DEEP MOISTURE THROUGH CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA OVERNIGHT.
SURFACE FRONT WILL LAG BEHIND DUE TO WEAK PUSH. LIFT ALONG SURFACE
FRONT REMAINS WEAK. THEREFORE...EXPECT ONLY SCATTERED WEAK
CONVECTION TONIGHT. UPPER LEVELS DRY OUT BY TUESDAY MORNING. LOWER
LEVELS REMAIN MOIST UNTIL TUESDAY AFTERNOON WHEN DRY AIR PUSHES DOWN
FROM THE NORTH. WILL INCLUDE A SLIGHT CHANCE IN SOUTHEAST TUESDAY
MORNING DUE TO SLOWNESS OF FRONT...THEN CLEARING TREND FOR ALL
AREAS. MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES TUESDAY NIGHT THRU WEDNESDAY NIGHT. WILL
STICK CLOSE TO GUIDANCE TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE PERIOD.

EXTENDED...WILL KEEP FORECAST DRY THROUGH THE EXTENDED WITH FRONTAL
PASSAGE ON FRIDAY LACKING ANY APPARENT MOISTURE SOURCE. WILL DELAY
CLOUDS TO FRIDAY RATHER THAN PREVIOUS FORECAST OF THURSDAY.
OTHERWISE COOLER AND DRIER AIR FOLLOWS FRONTAL PASSAGE TO ALLOW
FIRST AUTUMN-LIKE WEEKEND OF THE YEAR. BELOW NORMAL TEMPS WITH
AFTERNOON HIGHS 3 TO 5 DEGREES BELOW NORMS AND OVERNIGHT LOWS
FLIRTING WITH 6 TO 8 DEGREES BELOW NORMS.

NORMALS FOR SEPTEMBER:

      NORM     NORM
      MAX      MIN

15    81       62
16    81       61
17    81       61

RDU   67  83  59  84 /  40  10   0   0
GSO   65  81  58  83 /  40   0   0   0
FAY   69  83  62  84 /  40  20   0   0

.RAH...NONE.

SEB/KK/BL

The radar

The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 20 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:17 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Wake

When: September 10, 6:15 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Wake County, Wake Forest
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 35.790, -78.650 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flooding was reported on Mitchelll Mill Road.

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

Every storm in North Carolina in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, September 2001

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: 5268884.