North Carolina, 2009

Flooding in North Carolina, September 21, 2009

September 21, 2009 · NWS MRX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A strong storm system moved northeast into southwest North Carolina, producing repeat rainfall over the same area. Several area roads in Cherokee and Clay counties were flooded during the event.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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
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 happened

The episode as NWS MRX wrote it up.

A strong storm system moved northeast into southwest North Carolina, producing repeat rainfall over the same area. Several area roads in Cherokee and Clay counties were flooded during the event.

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 Morristown, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 21, 6:17 AM EST, 2 hours 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 21, 6:17 AM EST, 2 hours 13 minutes before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Cherokee

When
September 21, 8:30 AM EST to 7:30 PM EST
Where
Cherokee County, 1.88 mi WSW of Murphy to 0.42 mi SSW of Murphy
Cause
Heavy Rain
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
35.073, -84.062

Very heavy rainfall over several hours produced areal flooding from mid morning to mid evening in Murphy, North Carolina. A few roads in and around Murphy, North Carolina had several inches to nearly a foot of water over the road. The vast majority of the flooding was along highway 19 in Cherokee county.

Flood, Clay

When
September 21, 8:30 AM EST to 7:20 PM EST
Where
Clay County, 0.8 mi N of Warne to 0.43 mi E of Warne
Cause
Heavy Rain
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
35.011, -83.882

Very heavy rainfall over several hours produced areal flooding from mid morning to late afternoon in Hayesville, North Carolina. A few roads in and around Hayesville, North Carolina had several inches to nearly a foot of water over the road. The vast majority of the flooding was along highway 64 in Clay county.

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

More

Every storm in North Carolina in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, September 2009

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: 198215, 198216.