Debris Flow in North Carolina, July 15, 2013

Name: Debris Flow in North Carolina, July 15, 2013
Start: 2013-07-15T22:00
End: 2013-07-15T22:00
Location: North Carolina

July 15, 2013 · NWS GSP · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Even though no rain had fallen for several hours, a debris flow took out a highway and a couple mobile homes in northern Avery County.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $100,000
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.

Even though no rain had fallen for several hours, a debris flow took out a highway and a couple mobile homes in northern Avery County.

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 Jul 15, 9:35 PM EST, 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 15, 9:35 PM EST, 25 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 15, 5:57 AM EST, 16 hours 3 minutes before

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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 15, 4:59 PM EST, 5 hours 1 minute before

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Special weather statement, Jul 15, 5:04 PM EST, 4 hours 56 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jul 15, 5:08 PM EST, 4 hours 52 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jul 15, 5:59 PM EST, 4 hours 1 minute before

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Special weather statement, Jul 15, 7:22 PM EST, 2 hours 38 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

1 debris flow. Local standard time, as filed.

Debris Flow, Avery

When: July 15, 10:00 PM EST
Where: Avery County, 0.47 mi ENE of Cranberry to 0.56 mi E of Cranberry
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 36.152, -81.962

Despite no rain having fallen for several hours, A debris flow caused a large section of highway 194 to collapse, closing the three lane highway indefinitely. The event occurred around 11 pm at night just north of the intersection with Blevin Creek Road about 1 miles southeast of Elk Park. Two mobile homes and several vehicles were destroyed by the debris flow, though the occupants of the homes escaped unharmed.

What these are

Debris Flow: A fast-moving slurry of mud, rock and debris, usually on a slope soaked by heavy rain or stripped by a fire.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in North Carolina in 2013 Every state in 2013 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, July 2013

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 472383.