North Carolina, 2002

Flash Flood in North Carolina, July 24, 2002

July 24, 2002 · NWS GSP · 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$50,000
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 Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 24, 2:00 PM EST, 4 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 24, 2:00 PM EST, 4 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
300 PM EDT WED JUL 24 2002

CONVECTION HAS ONCE AGAIN DEVELOPED ACROSS A GOOD PORTION OF THE CWA
THIS AFTERNOON. EXPECT BEST COVERAGE THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON AND
EVENING TO OCCUR ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS...AND ALONG AND NEAR THE
SURFACE FRONT THAT CONTINUES TO MAKE SLOW PROGRESS THROUGH NORTHERN
NC. MODEL CONSENSUS IS TO HANG THIS BOUNDARY UP ACROSS NORTHERN
PORTIONS OF OUR CWA THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY. ALTHOUGH MID LEVEL SHEAR
AXIS AND ASSOCIATED COOL POOL THAT HAS SUPPORTED CONVECTION OVER THE
PAST COUPLE OF DAYS WILL CONTINUE TO WEAKEN...VERY MOIST ATMOSPHERE
COMBINED WITH FRONT WARRANTS HIGH CHANCE TO LIKELY POPS ACROSS THE
AREA THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT.

HEIGHTS BEGIN FALLING ACROSS THE EASTERN U.S. THURSDAY NIGHT INTO
FRIDAY...AS SERIES OF SW TROUGHS SWING ACROSS THE MIDWEST INTO THE
NORTHEAST. THIS WILL ALLOW WEAKENING FRONT AND DEEPER MOISTURE TO
PUSH EAST OF THE AREA DURING THE DAY FRIDAY...SUPPORTING LOWER POPS.
WILL RETAIN LOW CHANCE POP FOR SATURDAY TO COVER POSSIBILITY FOR
DIURNAL CONVECTION...ALTHOUGH SUSPECT THAT THIS WILL HAVE TO BE
LOWERED IN LATER PACKAGES.

MID LEVEL RIDGE BEGINS TO BUILD OVER THE SOUTHEAST DURING THE DAY
SUNDAY AND REMAINS IN PLACE THROUGH THE EARLY PART OF THE WORK
WEEK...SUPPORTING VERY WARM TEMPS AND MINIMAL PRECIP CHANCES.
ANOTHER FRONT WORKS ITS WAY TOWARD THE AREA BY WEDNESDAY...BUT HAVE
OPTED TO LEAVE POPS OUT OF THE FORECAST FOR NOW.

.GSP...
GA...NONE.
NC...NONE.
SC...NONE.

LANE

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 113 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:02 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Lincoln

When
July 24, 6:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where
Lincoln County, Triangle
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.486, -81.224 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A severe urban flood developed quickly after about 4 inches of rain fell in 2 hours in eastern Lincoln County. Mud and water flowed across the road from a construction site, flooding the parking lot of a shopping center. People were trapped in cars and had to escape through windows. At least one car floated across the parking lot, and water accumulated to depths of 3 feet against store windows and then entered the stores. The water peaked in about 30 minutes and then receded.

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

More

Every storm in North Carolina in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, July 2002

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: 5309614.