Flash Flooding and Heavy Rain in North Carolina, May 19, 2023

Name: Flash Flooding and Heavy Rain in North Carolina, May 19, 2023
Start: 2023-05-19T03:00
End: 2023-05-19T15:00
Location: North Carolina

May 19, 2023 · NWS ILM · 11 events in 2 counties and zones

An area of low pressure off the Cape Fear coast lead to very heavy rainfall in parts of southeast NC.

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: $72,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 11

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 ILM wrote it up.

An area of low pressure off the Cape Fear coast lead to very heavy rainfall in parts of southeast NC.

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 Wilmington, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 19, 2:19 AM EST, 41 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 19, 2:19 AM EST, 41 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, May 18, 9:41 PM EST, 5 hours 19 minutes before

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In the hours before

Local storm report, May 18, 9:51 PM EST, 5 hours 9 minutes before

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The radar

The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 43 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 08:01 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 flash flood, 4 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Brunswick

When: May 19, 3:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where: Brunswick County, 1.34 mi SE of Lanvale
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 34.187, -78.032

M10.56 inches of rainfall.

Heavy Rain, Brunswick

When: May 19, 3:00 AM EST to 9:15 AM EST
Where: Brunswick County, 1.14 mi W of Eastbrook
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 34.270, -78.070

M6.12 inches of rainfall.

Heavy Rain, New Hanover

When: May 19, 3:00 AM EST to 8:53 AM EST
Where: New Hanover County, 0.9 mi NW of New Bern Jct
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 34.260, -77.930

M4.58 inches of rainfall.

Heavy Rain, Brunswick

When: May 19, 3:00 AM EST to 8:38 AM EST
Where: Brunswick County, 1.14 mi W of Woodburn
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 34.230, -78.020

M7.93 inches of rainfall.

Flash Flood, Brunswick

When: May 19, 8:45 AM EST to 9:30 AM EST
Where: Brunswick County, 0.46 mi WNW of Leland to 1.71 mi NW of Lanvale
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 34.254, -78.057

Multiple roads impassable due to flooding in the Leland area. Multiple vehicles became stranded.

Flash Flood, Brunswick

When: May 19, 9:50 AM EST to 10:30 AM EST
Where: Brunswick County, 0.72 mi NW of Leland to 0.4 mi W of Lanvale
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 34.256, -78.060

Multiple water rescues in the Lanvale Rd area.

Flash Flood, Brunswick

When: May 19, 10:00 AM EST to 10:45 AM EST
Where: Brunswick County, 0.46 mi WNW of Leland to 1.71 mi NW of Lanvale
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $30,000
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 34.254, -78.057

Approximately 20 roads closed in and around Leland, four homes with some water intrusions, three businesses with some water intrusion, and North Brunswick High School flooded with one inch of water in one of the buildings on campus.

Flash Flood, Brunswick

When: May 19, 10:00 AM EST to 10:30 AM EST
Where: Brunswick County, 1.09 mi SE of Lanvale to 1.41 mi SE of Lanvale
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 34.190, -78.035

Widespread flooding from overflowing retention ponds in a dozen locations along Leesburg Drive.

Flash Flood, Brunswick

When: May 19, 10:00 AM EST to 10:45 AM EST
Where: Brunswick County, 1.43 mi WSW of Easy Hill to 1.31 mi WSW of Easy Hill
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 34.215, -78.024

Car filled with water and floated at Gregory Rd NE and Hwy 17.

Flash Flood, Brunswick

When: May 19, 10:15 AM EST to 10:45 AM EST
Where: Brunswick County, 0.31 mi SW of Eliah to 0.24 mi SSW of Eliah
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 34.227, -78.054

A road scour developed along Lanvale Rd between Grandiflora Drive and Orchard Loop Road.

Flash Flood, Brunswick

When: May 19, 11:50 AM EST to 12:30 PM EST
Where: Brunswick County, 1.25 mi ENE of Eliah to 1.4 mi ENE of Eliah
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 34.239, -78.031

Road partially washed out on Highway 74 under Old Fayetteville Rd overpass.

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 2023 Every state in 2023 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, May 2023

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1094064, 1094066, 1094067, 1094070, 1094228, 1094226, 1094222, 1094233, 1094235, 1094225, 1094243.