Flood, Gaston
- When
- April 10, 1:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
- Where
- Gaston forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 35.294, -81.180 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood in North Carolina, April 10, 2003
An extended period of moderate to heavy rainfall resulted in slow rises and eventual flooding along numerous creeks and streams across the county, including along the South Fork of the Catawba River near Lowell. Some urban flooding also developed.
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.
An extended period of moderate to heavy rainfall resulted in slow rises and eventual flooding along numerous creeks and streams across the county, including along the South Fork of the Catawba River near Lowell. Some urban flooding also developed.
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 Apr 10, 11:33 AM EST, 1 hour 27 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 10, 11:33 AM EST, 1 hour 27 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1233 PM EDT THU APR 10 2003
WELL...CONVECTIVE ELEMENTS HAVE CERTAINLY DONE A JOB AT KEEPING
SNOW LEVELS QUITE LOW...ALL THE WAY TO VALLEY FLOORS FROM THE
I-40 CORRIDOR AND POINTS NORTHEAST. FOR WHAT IT IS WORTH...THE
12Z GFS WBZ HEIGHT WAS ALSO TOO HIGH...PROGGED TO BE ON THE
ORDER OF 3500 FT ALL DAY. PLAN TO UP LOWER ELEVATION AMTS
ACRS NC MTNS INTO 2-4 RANGE FROM HAYWOOD-TRANS COUNTIES
NE...AND EMPHASIZE MORE SNOW ACRS THE NC FOOTHILLS.
FCSTID = 55
GSP 44 40 55 42 / 100 60 30 10
AND 43 41 56 42 / 100 60 30 10
CLT 44 40 55 43 / 100 70 40 10
HKY 42 39 53 41 / 100 70 40 10
AVL 42 37 46 38 / 100 70 30 10
.GSP...
GA...FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT GAZ010-017>018-026-028>029.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT GAZ010.
NC...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT
NCZ033-048>053-058>059-062>065.
FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT
NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082.
SC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT SCZ001>014-019.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT SCZ001>003.Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 10, 5:00 AM EST, 8 hours before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-101200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 600 AM EDT THU APR 10 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA... UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY DEEP LOW PRESSURE SPINNING OVER THE SOUTHEAST WILL BRING ABUNDANT RAINFALL TO THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA THROUGH TONIGHT. PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES MAY CREATE FLOODING TODAY AND TONIGHT ON STREAMS AND RIVERS ACROSS THE AREA. A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE AREA THROUGH TONIGHT. PLEASE SEE THE PRODUCT FFAGSP FOR DETAILS ON THE FLOOD WATCH. COLD AIR ALOFT UNDER THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL FURTHER ALLOW SOME OF THE PRECIPITATION TO CHANGE OVER TO SNOW AT THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE MOUNTAINS. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS WILL RANGE FROM AN INCH OR LESS IN MOUNTAIN VALLEYS TO 6 TO 12 INCHES AT ELEVATIONS ABOVE 4000 FEET. PLEASE SEE THE WINTER STORM WARNING...WSWGSP...FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO RELAY ANY FLOODING OR HEAVY SNOWFALL REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. HG
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tropical Storm in Guam, April 10, 2003
- Flash Flood in Hawaii, April 10, 2003
- Flood in North Carolina, April 10 to 11, 2003
- Flood in North Carolina, April 10, 2003
- Strong Wind in Virginia, April 10 to 11, 2003
- Flood in North Carolina, April 10, 2003
- Flooding in Tennessee, April 10 to 11, 2003
- Strong Wind in North Carolina, April 10, 2003
- Flooding and Strong Wind in Virginia, April 10, 2003
- Flooding and Strong Wind in North Carolina, April 10, 2003
- Flooding in North Carolina, April 10, 2003
- Heavy Snow in North Carolina, April 10, 2003
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, April 2003
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: 5353558.