It wasn’t even a tropical storm, but the lumbering low pressure system that crawled through the Southeast will go down in the record books as a historically prolific rainmaker.
North Carolina was hardest hit with rainfall amounts up to 10 inches between Sunday and Tuesday. Some of the heaviest totals concentrated near Raleigh, Winston-Salem and Wilmington, all of which experienced flooding.
The flooding shut down roads, swamped homes and businesses, necessitated swift-water rescues, and led to sewage spills, according to reports.
One person died in the flooding — the body discovered by a maintenance crew near a river in Raleigh.
Between Monday and Tuesday, 6.68 inches of rain drenched Raleigh, its seventh highest two-day rainfall total in recorded history. This is more than twice its normal rain for April in its entirety.
The torrent came just six months after Hurricane Matthew unloaded 6.81 inches, the fifth wettest two-day event in the rankings.
Monday’s 4.51 inches in Raleigh were the most on record for a single day during the month of April. Between Sunday and Tuesday, it posted 7.45 inches.
While the heaviest rains have departed Raleigh, the flood risk remains as rivers continue to rise.
Reports the Raleigh News and Observer:
“The National Weather Service issued flood warnings for the Neuse, Tar, Cape Fear, Haw and Deep rivers. The Neuse had exceeded its flood stage of 15 feet at Smithfield early Tuesday and is expected to reach nearly 25 feet by Wednesday afternoon. At 23 feet, the river inundates Hospital and Buffalo roads and cuts off the town water treatment plant’s access to its reservoir. The river is expected to remain above flood stage until Friday night.”
A number of roads remained closed because of floodwaters, the News and Observer said.
While the heaviest rainfall totals occurred in the Tarheel State, amounts of at least five inches were also reported in Tennessee, South Carolina and Virginia.
Winds were generally moderate where the heaviest rain fell in North Carolina’s interior, but at the coast, gusts reached tropical-storm force - in the 50 to 60 mph range.
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