Flash Flooding in North Carolina, June 16, 2003

Name: Flash Flooding in North Carolina, June 16, 2003
Start: 2003-06-16T17:30
End: 2003-06-16T18:30
Location: North Carolina

June 16, 2003 · NWS GSP · 2 events in 1 county or zone

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

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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: 2

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 Jun 16, 2:20 PM EST, 3 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 16, 2:20 PM EST, 3 hours 10 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
320 PM EDT MON JUN 16 2003

SURFACE FRONT HAS PUSHED INTO THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE FORECAST
AREA THIS AFTERNOON. LOW CLOUDS HAVE BEEN VERY SLOW TO ERODE IN THE
NC PIEDMONT TODAY...KEEPING THE AREA MORE STABLE THAN SC/GA AND THE
WRN MOUNTAINS. CONVECTION HAS DEVELOPED IN THE MORE UNSTABLE AREAS
AND THIS SHOULD STEADILY SPREAD EASTWARD ACROSS THE AREA THIS
EVENING...WITH THE STALLING SFC BOUNDARY REMAINING A FOCUS FOR
CONVECTION OVERNIGHT. PER COORDINATION WITH ADJACENT OFFICES...WILL
MAINTAIN THE EXISTING FLOOD WATCH FOR MUCH OF NORTH CAROLINA
TONIGHT. WILL LEAVE IT TO THE MID SHIFT TO ASSESS THE NEED FOR
EXTENSION INTO TUESDAY. ISOLATED FLOODING PROBLEMS COULD DEVELOP
OUTSIDE THE WATCH AREA FARTHER SW...BUT DEGREE OF TRAINING AWAY FROM
THE SURFACE BOUNDARY WILL BE VERY HARD TO ASSESS AND IS PROBABLY NOT
WORTH A WATCH AT PRESENT.

SFC BOUNDARY IS FORECAST TO REMAIN OVER THE NE THIRD OF THE FORECAST
AREA THROUGH TOMORROW WITH THE MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT THAT THE
BOUNDARY SLOWLY LIFTS BACK NORTH THROUGH WEDNESDAY. WILL GENERALLY
GO SLIGHTLY LOWER THAN GUIDANCE ON MAXES AND KEEP A SMALL DIURNAL
TEMP RANGE. DEEPER MOISTURE SHOWS UP IN TIME HEIGHTS AGAIN WED WITH
DEEP SW FLOW BUT LESS TRIGGERING AROUND. WILL OPT FOR SOLID CHC POPS
WED AFTN.

STRONG COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NORTHWEST ON THU WITH HIGHEST
EXTENDED RANGE POPS FEATURED FOR THU NIGHT. MODEL DISCREPANCIES THEN
BEGIN TO SHOW UP. THE GFS HAS BEEN FAIRLY CONSISTENT THE PAST THREE
RUNS WITH HANGING UP THE FRONT ACROSS THE SRN EDGE OF AREA WITH
RETURN FLOW MOISTURE BY SAT. GFS ALSO FEATURES TROUGH AXIS TO THE
WEST OVER THE MS VALLEY. WILL LEAN TOWARD ECM SOLUTION OF PLAINS
RIDGING AND MUCH LATER RETURN OF A WEAKER FRONT FOR LATE WEEKEND AND
RETURN TO DIURNAL AFTN CONVECTION.

FCSTID =   33
GSP   69  82  69  82 /  70  60  60  50
AND   69  84  69  83 /  60  60  60  50
CLT   69  81  69  82 /  70  70  70  50
HKY   67  77  67  79 /  80  70  70  50
AVL   65  77  64  78 /  70  70  70  50

.GSP...
GA...NONE.
NC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES NCZ033>037...NCZ048>050...
NCZ053>057...NCZ065>072...NCZ082.
SC...NONE.

HG

Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 16, 5:22 AM EST, 12 hours 8 minutes before

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-161200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
622 AM EDT MON JUN 16 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY

A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT
AS IT MOVES SOUTH ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS.
ALONG AND A LITTLE BEHIND THE FRONT...THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL TEND TO
REFORM OVER THE SAME AREAS. THIS WILL RESULT IN LOCALIZED VERY HEAVY
RAIN ACROSS WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

MORE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TUESDAY AND
WEDNESDAY. ON TUESDAY THE THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE HEAVY RAIN...WITH
A BETTER CHANCE OF DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL ON WEDNESDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT TO
REPORT SEVERE WEATHER AS WELL AS TO MONITOR STREAM LEVELS AND REPORT
RAINFALL TOTALS.

MCAVOY

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 16, 4:10 PM EST, 1 hour 20 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
510 PM EDT MON JUN 16 2003

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

455 PM     2 NE ST STEPHENS          NC   FLASH FLOOD
06/16/03   CATAWBA                        COUNTY EOC REPORTED WATER
                                          COVERING SPRINGS ROAD AND
                                          SAINT PETERS CHURCH ROAD
                                          IMPEDING TRAFFIC.

LAMB

Local storm report, Jun 16, 4:23 PM EST, 1 hour 7 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
523 PM EDT MON JUN 16 2003

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

515 PM     5 W STATESVILLE           NC   FLASH FLOOD
06/16/03   IREDELL                        COUNTY COMMS REPORTED
                                          FLOODING ON HIGHWAYS 70
                                          AND 90... AND ON BRISTOL
                                          ROAD IN THE WESTERN PART
                                          OF THE COUNTY... IMPEDING
                                          TRAFFIC.

508 PM     3 NNE ST STEPHENS         NC   WIND DAMAGE
06/16/03   CATAWBA                        COUNTY COMMS REPORTED
                                          MULTIPLE TREES DOWN AND
                                          PROPERTY DAMAGE NEAR LAKE
                                          HICKORY.

LAMB

Local storm report, Jun 16, 4:42 PM EST, 48 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
542 PM EDT MON JUN 16 2003

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

455 PM     2 E BETHLEHEM             NC   WIND DAMAGE
06/16/03   ALEXANDER                      SHINGLES OFF
                                          ROOFS...TREES AND
                                          PWERLINES DOWN...REPORTED
                                          BY EMERGENCY MANAGER.

RB

Local storm report, Jun 16, 4:49 PM EST, 41 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
549 PM EDT MON JUN 16 2003

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

542 PM     MOORESVILLE               NC   .75 INCH HAIL
06/16/03   IREDELL                        HAM OPERATOR REPORTED
                                          DIME SIZE HAIL AND WIND
                                          GUSTS ABOVE 50 MPH AT
                                          INTERSTATE 77 AND HWY
                                          21... NEAR MOORESVILLE.

LAMB

Local storm report, Jun 16, 5:01 PM EST, 29 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
601 PM EDT MON JUN 16 2003

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

525 PM     2 W MORGANTON             NC   FLASH FLOOD
06/16/03   BURKE                          COUNTY EOC REPORTED AN
                                          EXIT RAMP ON I-40 CLOSED
                                          TEMPORARILY DUE TO
                                          FLOODING.

LAMB

Local storm report, Jun 16, 5:19 PM EST, 11 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
619 PM EDT MON JUN 16 2003

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

530 PM     BETHLEHEM                 NC   WIND DAMAGE
06/16/03   ALEXANDER                      TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED
                                          SWATH OF TREES DOWN AND A
                                          ROOF BLOWN OFF A HOUSE AT
                                          LAKE HICKORY. F.D. ON
                                          SCENE AT RIVER HILLS
                                          COURT.

600 PM     3 SE TOCCOA               GA   .88 INCH HAIL
06/16/03   STEPHENS                       SPOTTER REPORTED NICKEL
                                          SIZE HAIL AND STRONG
                                          WINDS NEAR TOCCOA.

LAMB

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 156 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:30 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Rowan

When: June 16, 5:30 PM EST to 6:30 PM EST
Where: Rowan County, Kannapolis
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.640, -80.525 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Urban flooding occurred across much of the city.

Flash Flood, Rowan

When: June 16, 5:30 PM EST to 6:30 PM EST
Where: Rowan County, 9 mi NW of Kannapolis
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.640, -80.525 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Highway 150 was covered with water at its intersection with Bradshaw Rd.

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 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, June 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: 5363117, 5363390.