Flood, McDowell
- When
- April 18, 4:30 AM EST to 11:00 AM EST
- Where
- McDowell forecast zone
- Property damage
- $200,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
Flood in North Carolina, April 18, 2003
Persistent overnight rainfall resulted in slow rises along numerous creeks and streams, culminating in widespread flooding that began during the morning hours. Most of the flooding occurred in northern portions of the county.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $200,000
- 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 happened
The episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.
Persistent overnight rainfall resulted in slow rises along numerous creeks and streams, culminating in widespread flooding that began during the morning hours. Most of the flooding occurred in northern portions of the county. Several homes were flooded. Vehicles and campers were trapped by high water. Some mudslides also developed in mountainous areas.
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
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
- Flash Flooding in Puerto Rico, April 18, 2003
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, April 18 to 19, 2003
- Tornadoes and Hail in Nebraska, April 18, 2003
- Flood in North Carolina, April 18, 2003
- Flood in South Carolina, April 18, 2003
- Tornadoes and Hail in Nebraska, April 18, 2003
- Flood in South Carolina, April 18, 2003
- Tornado in Florida, April 18, 2003
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Texas, April 18 to 19, 2003
- Winter Storm in Montana, April 18, 2003
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Kansas, April 18, 2003
- Hail and Heavy Rain in Kansas, April 18, 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: 5355143.