Flash Flooding and Heavy Rain in North Carolina, July 20 to 21, 2022

Name: Flash Flooding and Heavy Rain in North Carolina, July 20 to 21, 2022
Start: 2022-07-20T07:15
End: 2022-07-21T07:15
Location: North Carolina

July 20 to 21, 2022 · NWS MRX · 4 events in 1 county or zone

A thunderstorm anchored and redeveloping over higher terrain near Marble NC produced up to 8 inches of rain.

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: $1.0 million
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 MRX wrote it up.

A thunderstorm anchored and redeveloping over higher terrain near Marble NC produced up to 8 inches of rain.

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 Jul 20, 6:29 AM EST, 46 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 20, 6:29 AM EST, 46 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 20, 2:11 AM EST, 5 hours 4 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Morristown TN
311 AM EDT Wed Jul 20 2022

NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002-
005-006-008-210715-
Cherokee-Clay-Scott TN-Campbell-Claiborne-Hancock-Hawkins-
Sullivan-Johnson-Morgan-Anderson-Union-Grainger-Hamblen-
Northwest Cocke-Cocke Smoky Mountains-Northwest Greene-
Southeast Greene-Washington TN-Unicoi-Northwest Carter-
Southeast Carter-Roane-Loudon-Knox-Jefferson-Northwest Blount-
Blount Smoky Mountains-North Sevier-Sevier Smoky Mountains-
Sequatchie-Bledsoe-Rhea-Meigs-McMinn-Northwest Monroe-
Southeast Monroe-Marion-Hamilton-Bradley-West Polk-East Polk-Lee-
Wise-Scott VA-Russell-Washington VA-
311 AM EDT Wed Jul 20 2022 /211 AM CDT Wed Jul 20 2022/

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of southwest North
Carolina...east Tennessee and southwest Virginia.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight

Scattered showers and thunderstorms can be expected today and
tonight. A few of these storms may become strong to severe, with
damaging wind gusts and very heavy rainfall with the potential for
localized flooding the primary threats.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday

Showers and thunderstorms will be possible Thursday along an
incoming frontal boundary. A few of these storms could be strong
to severe with gusty winds, and heavy rainfall being the main
threats, with the highest risk being in southeast Tennessee and
southwest North Carolina.

Over the weekend and into next week, temperatures in the central
and southern Tennessee valley will climb into the mid and upper
90s, with heat index values of 100 to 105 degrees expected.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not needed at this time.

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 118 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 12:13 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Cherokee

When: July 20, 7:15 AM EST to July 21, 7:15 AM EST
Where: Cherokee County, 0.89 mi NE of Marble
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 35.190, -83.920

Mesonet Station MBLN7 1.1 NE Marble 24 hour rainfall of 4.18 inches.

Flash Flood, Cherokee

When: July 20, 11:30 PM EST to July 21, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Cherokee County, 0.5 mi N of Marble to 2 mi WSW of Marble
Cause: Heavy Rain
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 35.187, -83.930

Flooded stream approaching the base of a house.

Flash Flood, Cherokee

When: July 21, 12:05 AM EST to 3:15 AM EST
Where: Cherokee County, 2 mi N of Marble to 4 mi SW of Marble
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $1.0 million
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 35.209, -83.930

Multiple roads inundated. Multiple structures flooded. Some roadside washouts. For the Marble flash flood event, damages were estimated to be at least $1,000,000, with $750,000 of that going to road repair, and the remainder toward properties.

Flash Flood, Cherokee

When: July 21, 2:13 AM EST to 4:00 AM EST
Where: Cherokee County, 2 mi N of Marble to 4 mi SW of Marble
Cause: Heavy Rain
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 35.209, -83.930

Multiple residences being evacuated due to rising flood waters in Marble NC.

What these are

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

Every storm in North Carolina in 2022 Every state in 2022 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, July 2022

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: 1049143, 1049138, 1049140, 1049142.