Flood in North Carolina, April 18, 2003

Name: Flood in North Carolina, April 18, 2003
Start: 2003-04-18T04:30
End: 2003-04-18T11:00
Location: North Carolina

April 18, 2003 · NWS GSP · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Persistent heavy rainfall resulted in slow rises and eventual flooding in the southern part of the county. Several fields were flooded, and 12 roads were closed.

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: 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 heavy rainfall resulted in slow rises and eventual flooding in the southern part of the county. Several fields were flooded, and 12 roads were closed.

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 18, 2:42 AM EST, 1 hour 48 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 18, 2:42 AM EST, 1 hour 48 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
342 AM EDT FRI APR 18 2003

WEDGE BOUNDARY IS STEADILY SLIDING SOUTH...PRESENTLY CROSSING THE
CAROLINA LINE AROUND KCLT. OLD COLD FRONT STATIONARY OVER THE
EXTREME WESTERN NC AND NRN GA. STRONG H85 WINDS RIDING OVER THE NOSE
OF THE WEDGE COMBINED WITH SLOW MOVING H5 TROF YIELDING POTENT UVV.
WIDESPREAD RAIN...HEAVY AT TIMES...TAKING PLACE THIS AM OVER THE
EASTERN HALF OF THE CWA. UPGLIDE AND UPSLOPE WILL PUT THE BEST
RAINFALL ALONG THE CAROLINA STATE LINE EAST OF THE MTNS. CONCERN IS
FOR EXCESSIVE RAINFALL AND FLOOD WATCH WILL REMAIN OVER PORTIONS OF
THE PIEDMONT AND FOOTHILLS OF THE CAROLINAS THRU NOON.

TEMPERATURES ARE ALWAYS A CHALLENGE WITH WEDGES. WITH PRECIP FALLING
INTO BUILDING WEDGE WILL EXPECT MOST AREAS TO SEE LITTLE IF ANY
DIURNAL RECOVERY...AND SLOW FALL TO TONIGHTS LOW. WILL ADD LOW CHC
POPS TONIGHT FOR PERSISTENT LIGHT RAIN AND DRIZZLE. INTERESTING
PATTERN SATURDAY AS CWA IS UNDER H5 RIDGING IN BETWEEN TWO CLOSED
UPPER LOWS. WILL AGAIN EXPECT WEDGE CONDITIONS...ALBEIT WEAKENING
THROUGHOUT THE DAY. REMNANT WEDGE REMAINING FOR SUNDAY...WILL KEEP
LOW CHC FOR SH AND TS. SCOURING OF THE CAD SHOULD TAKE PLACE MONDAY
IN THE FORM OF A COLD FRONT...WILL INCREASE POPS FOR SH/TS. LITTLE
CHANGE MADE TO GOING FORECAST BEYOND MONDAY.

FCSTID =   16
GSP   58  51  66  55 / 100  30  20  20
AND   63  52  69  55 /  80  30  20  20
CLT   57  50  67  51 / 100  30  20  20
HKY   52  49  65  52 / 100  30  20  20
AVL   58  49  67  51 /  90  30  20  20

.GSP...
GA...NONE.
NC...FLOOD WATCH THRU NOON FOR ZONES
NCZ034>036...NCZ054>056...NCZ066>071.
SC...FLOOD WATCH THRU NOON FOR ZONES
SCZ003...SCZ006>009...SCZ013>014.

NED

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 18, 3:35 AM EST, 55 minutes before

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-181030-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
435 AM EDT FRI APR 18 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA...
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

WIDESPREAD RAIN...MAINLY EAST OF INTERSTATE 26...WILL CONTINUE THIS
MORNING. OVERNIGHT...RAIN HAS BEEN HEAVY AT TIMES...RESULTING IN TWO
TO THREE INCHES OF RAIN OVER PORTIONS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA
FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT OF THE CAROLINAS. PLEASE SEE THE LATEST FLOOD
WATCH (FFAGSP)...WARNINGS (FLWGSP)...AND STATEMENTS (FLSGSP) FOR
ADDITIONAL DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

A COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON AND
EVENING...BRINGING ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE
WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY THIS MORNING.

NED

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Cabarrus

When: April 18, 4:30 AM EST to 11:00 AM EST
Where: Cabarrus forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.387, -80.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

Every storm in North Carolina in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5353567.