A deep low pressure system brought heavy rainfall to northwest North Carolina, particularly along the crest of the Blue Ridge in Watauga County. Sustained southeasterly winds added an orographic enhancement to rainfall amounts which fell across the headwaters of the Watauga River.
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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.
The episode as NWS RNK wrote it up.
A deep low pressure system brought heavy rainfall to northwest North Carolina, particularly along the crest of the Blue Ridge in Watauga County. Sustained southeasterly winds added an orographic enhancement to rainfall amounts which fell across the headwaters of the Watauga River. While rainfall rates generally remained at a half inch or less across southern Watauga County through the event, the duration of rainfall locally approached 36 hours. Rainfall totals across the headwaters of the Watauga River were observed as high as 6.5 inches, while amounts further downstream near Sugar Grove were up to 3.5 inches. The prolonged rainfall resulted in minor flooding of the Watauga River, with no damage reported.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 heavy rain, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The CoCoRaHS Observer at Foscoe 1.2 WSW, NC (NC-WT-11) recorded a 48-rainfall amount of 6.20 inches. This is between a 2-year and a 5-year Average Recurrence Interval event per NOAA Atlas 14 Point Precipitation Frequency estimates. Runoff from this location flows into the Watauga River.
The CoCoRaHS Observer at Seven Devils 0.1 E, NC (NC-WT-48) recorded a 48-rainfall amount of 5.24 inches. This is around a 2-year Average Recurrence Interval event per NOAA Atlas 14 Point Precipitation Frequency estimates. Runoff from this location flows into the Watauga River.
A personal weather station (Weather Underground: KNCBANNE99) recorded a 24-rainfall amount of 3.20 inches. This is about a 1-year Average Recurrence Interval event per NOAA Atlas 14 Point Precipitation Frequency estimates. Runoff from this location flows into the Watauga River.
The Watauga River at Sugar Grove (SGWN7) crested at 7.11 feet at 1:00 pm EST on December 26th due to prolonged moderate to heavy rainfall. This is the 20th-highest crest in the history of this gage, and is the highest crest since June 2019. This crest (3,290 cfs) ranks less than a 2-year event per USGS StreamStats. No damage was reported with this event.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, December 2023
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: 1154042, 1154043, 1154044, 1152417.