North Carolina, 2003

Flash Flood in North Carolina, June 18, 2003

June 18, 2003 · 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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 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 18, 2:05 PM EST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 18, 2:05 PM EST, 1 hour 10 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
305 PM EDT WED JUN 18 2003

UPPER LEVEL SHORT WAVE TROUGH JUST TO OUR SOUTHWEST IS PROMOTING THE
DEVELOPMENT OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AS THE SYSTEM MOVES
NORTHEAST TOWARD THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION.  DEEP MOISTURE HAS
RESULTED IN PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES UP TO 170 PERCENT OF NORMAL
ACROSS PARTS OF CWA.  INSTABILITY IS SOMEWHAT LIMITED SO THREAT OF
SEVERE CONVECTIVE STORMS IS RESTRICTED TO ISOLATED OCCURRENCES.
MOST OF CWA REMAINS IN EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OUTLOOK... SO FLOOD WATCH
IS CONTINUED TONIGHT AND THURSDAY.  HEAVY RAIN IS MOST LIKELY TO
OCCUR PRIOR TO 06Z THURSDAY.  AS UPPER TROUGH PASSES BY LATER
TONIGHT... BEST LIFT MOVES EAST OF THE AREA... BUT AXIS OF NEGATIVE
OMEGA EXTENDS SOUTHWEST FROM VICINITY MD TO TN VALLEY COINCIDENT
WITH SURFACE FRONT.  THIS FEATURE WILL CONTRIBUTE TO CONTINUED
CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY MORNING WITH A LITTLE
BETTER CHANCE IN THE AFTERNOON AS SURFACE HEATING BECOMES A FACTOR
IN DESTABILIZING ATMOSPHERE.  SURFACE TROUGH IN THE LEE OF THE
MOUNTAINS WILL ALSO BE PRESENT PRIOR TO PASSAGE OF COLD FRONT FRIDAY
MORNING.  FOLLOWING FRONTAL PASSAGE... DRIER AIR SPREADS INTO
REGION. CIRCULATION AROUND STRENGTHENING LOW NEAR MID-ATLANTIC COAST
AND GREAT LAKES HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND SATURDAY
WILL PRODUCE A DRY NORTHWEST AND WEST WIND FLOW THAT WILL CONTINUE
INTO THE WEEKEND.

SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...
DRY HIGH PRESSURE SETTLES OVER THE AREA SUNDAY. THIS BRINGS MOSTLY
CLEAR SKIES AND BELOW CLIMO LOWS WITH HIGHS NEAR CLIMO. MDLS NOW
FORECASTING SLOWER MOISTURE RETURN AS THE HIGH CENTER ONLY SLOWLY
MOVES OFFSHORE. THEREFORE HAVE REMOVED POP MENTION THRU WED. COULD
BE SOME ISOLATED MTN CONVECTION TUE/WED...BUT POP STAYS BELOW CLIMO
UNTIL WED WHEN IT IS JUST BELOW AT AVL. LOWS AND HIGHS RISE TO JUST
ABOVE CLIMO BY THE END OF THE PERIOD.

PRELIMINARY TEMPERATURES AND POPS...
GSP   69  85  67  84 /  90  50  50  10
AND   69  86  68  85 /  90  50  50  10
CLT   68  85  68  84 /  80  70  50  10
HKY   66  82  65  81 /  90  60  60  10
AVL   64  80  63  79 /  90  50  50  10

.GSP...
GA...FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND THURSDAY FOR ZONES GAZ010...
GAZ017>018...GAZ026...GAZ028>029.

NC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND THURSDAY FOR ZONES NCZ033>037...
NCZ048>059...NCZ062>072...NCZ082.

SC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND THURSDAY FOR ZONES SCZ001>014...
SCZ019.

LGL/RWH
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 18, 4:50 AM EST, 10 hours 25 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-181145-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
550 AM EDT WED JUN 18 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP OVER MUCH OF THE REGION AGAIN
TODAY. A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS
AND THE WESTERN FOOTHILLS. SEE OUR PRODUCT CAEFFAGSP FOR DETAILS.
THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM THUNDERSTORMS TODAY WILL BE FREQUENT
LIGHTNING AND TORRENTIAL RAIN. HOWEVER...A THUNDERSTORM WITH AN
ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUST CANNOT BE RULED OUT LATE THIS AFTERNOON.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

MORE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ON THURSDAY. ISOLATED LARGE HAIL
AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE...WITH FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND
HEAVY RAIN THE MORE PROMINENT THREAT. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE
AGAIN NEXT THURSDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT...PRIMARILY TO REPORT FLOODING AND RAINFALL AMOUNTS.

MCAVOY

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 18, 11:59 AM EST, 3 hours 16 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-SCZ001-004-010>012-019-181830-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1259 PM EDT WED JUN 18 2003

...NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND SOME THUNDERSTORMS APPROACHING AREA LAKES...

SHORTLY BEFORE 1 PM...RADAR SHOWED A SHORT LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS AND
SHOWERS...WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN...DEVELOPING FROM WEST OF HARTWELL TO
WEST OF ELBERTON GEORGIA.  THESE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST ABOUT
20 MPH AND WILL AFFECT THE LOWER PART OF LAKE HARTWELL...ALL OF
LAKES RUSSELL AND SECESSION...AND COULD REACH LAKE GREENWOOD A
LITTLE LATER.

STRONG WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH...HEAVY RAINFALL...AND CLOUD TO GROUND
LIGHTNING WILL BE THREATS TO PEOPLE CAMPING...BOATING...OR FISHING
ON THE LAKES THIS AFTERNOON.

FARTHER NORTH...SCATTERED STORMS WITH SIMILAR WEATHER WILL AFFECT
THE NORTHERN PART OF LAKE HARTWELL.

JONES

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 162 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:14 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Cabarrus

When
June 18, 3:15 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where
Cabarrus County, Concord
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
35.387, -80.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several streams overflowed their banks in and around the city.

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 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5363778.