Flooding and Heavy Rain in North Carolina, December 20 to 21, 2018

Name: Flooding and Heavy Rain in North Carolina, December 20 to 21, 2018
Start: 2018-12-20T07:00
End: 2018-12-21T07:00
Location: North Carolina

December 20 to 21, 2018 · NWS RNK · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

S. with a complex surface low tracking from the Gulf Coast into the southern Mid-Atlantic December 20-22.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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 RNK wrote it up.

Another southern stream dominated system emerged from the southwestern U.S. with a complex surface low tracking from the Gulf Coast into the southern Mid-Atlantic December 20-22. This was again an all liquid event, with 2-day rainfall totals (ending 12z, or 7 AM EST, on 12/22) ranging from 1 to 4 inches with isolated higher amounts mainly along and near the Blue Ridge. The top five rainfall reports in northwest North Carolina in the 48-hours ending 700 AM local time on the 22nd included Boone RG (BONN7) 4.62 inches, Glade Creek VFD DCP (GLCN7) 4.54 inches, Sandy Flats IFLOWS (SDRN7) 4.24 inches, Sparta 3.5 SSW CCR (NC-AG-1) 4.19 inches and Blowing Rock 4.4 NE CCR (NC-WT-6) 3.93 inches.

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 Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 20, 6:32 AM EST, 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 20, 6:32 AM EST, 28 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 20, 3:40 AM EST, 3 hours 20 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 heavy rain, 2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Wilkes

When: December 20, 7:00 AM EST to December 21, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Wilkes County, 20.12 mi S of Laurel Spgs
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 36.131, -81.228

The COOP station at W. Kerr Scott Reservoir (WLKN7) reported 2.39 inches for the 24-hours ending at 700 AM local time, which was the highest on record for December 21st. The old record was 1.11 inches in 1973. It was also the 5th highest daily precipitation recorded in the month of December. The record is 2.85 inches set December 1, 2010. Continuous climate records at this station exist since 1965.

Heavy Rain, Ashe

When: December 20, 7:00 AM EST to December 21, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Ashe County, 2 mi E of Jefferson
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 36.420, -81.444

The COOP station at Jefferson 2 E (JFFN7) reported 2.35 inches for the 24-hours ending at 700 AM local time which was the highest on record for December 21st. The old record was 1.73 inches in 1957. It was also the 7th highest daily precipitation recorded in the month of December. The record is 3.18 inches set December 2, 2010. Nearly continuous climate records at this station started in 1910.

Flood, Rockingham

When: December 20, 9:30 PM EST to December 21, 3:30 AM EST
Where: Rockingham County, 1.76 mi N of Reidsville to 1.62 mi W of Pennrington
Cause: Heavy Rain
Reported by: 911 Call Center
Coordinates: 36.395, -79.666

Wolf Island Creek flooded and closed a portion of Wolf Island Road.

Flood, Stokes

When: December 20, 9:30 PM EST to December 21, 3:30 AM EST
Where: Stokes County, 3.4 mi ESE of Sandy Ridge to 4.37 mi E of Sandy Ridge
Cause: Heavy Rain
Reported by: 911 Call Center
Coordinates: 36.490, -80.060

NC State Highway 770 was closed due to flooding near Buffalo Road.

What these are

Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
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

Every storm in North Carolina in 2018 Every state in 2018 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, December 2018

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: 797614, 797622, 796486, 797611.