North Carolina, 2003

Flash Flood in North Carolina, June 7 to 8, 2003

June 7 to 8, 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
$1.0 million
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 7, 5:16 PM EST, 2 hours 44 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 7, 5:16 PM EST, 2 hours 44 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
616 PM EDT SAT JUN 7 2003

TSRA FIRING IN AXIS OF 1000-1500 SB CAPES. WHILE SHEAR DOES WEAKEN
THE NEXT COUPLE HRS...WITH HIGH PW/S AND SEMI-ORGANIZED NATURE OF
THE LINE...THE PATH OF LEAST REGRET IS TO EXTEND THE FFA A FEW HOURS
ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE LINE.

.GSP...
GA...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 10 PM FOR ZONES
GAZ018...GAZ026...GAZ028>029.

NC...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 10 PM FOR ZONES
NCZ035>037...NCZ056>057...NCZ068>072...NCZ082.

SC...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 10 PM FOR ZONES SCZ004>014...SCZ019.

MCAVOY
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 7, 4:53 AM EST, 15 hours 7 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-071200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
553 AM EDT SAT JUN 7 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY

ANOTHER ROUND OF HEAVY RAIN IS EXPECTED BY THE EARLY PART OF THE
AFTERNOON. WITH THE GROUND ALREADY SATURATED BY OVERNIGHT RAIN...
THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING OF CREEKS...STREAMS...AND URBAN
AREAS. A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR TODAY. SEE THE FLOOD
WATCH (FFAGSP) ISSUED AT 351 AM FOR MORE DETAILS. A FLOOD WARNING IS
ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE SOUTH FORK CATAWBA RIVER AT LOWELL NORTH
CAROLINA. FOR MORE DETAILS...SEE THE RIVER FLOOD WARNING (FLWGSP)
ISSUED AT 315 PM FRIDAY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE MOUNTAINS SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY
MORNING. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE AREA AGAIN ON
THURSDAY AND FRIDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED.

MOORE

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 133 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:00 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Mecklenburg

When
June 7, 8:00 PM EST to June 8, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Mecklenburg County, Charlotte
Property damage
$1.0 million
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.247, -80.833 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Slow-moving thunderstorms producing very heavy rainfall caused severe urban flooding to develop in the Charlotte metro area during the evening of the 7th. Water levels on the Briar and Sugar Creek systems rose rapidly and overflowed their banks. Deep water was covering portions of Independence Blvd, and several vehicles were submerged. The first floor of a hotel was flooded, causing severe damage that necessitated rebuilding of the hotel. Several large sinkholes also developed. People required rescue from 2 apartment complexes, as well as from submerged vehicles.

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: 5362700.