Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2016 09:45:41 EDT
Summary: Severe thunderstorms and intense rainfall overnight has brought major flooding to Central North Carolina.
Severe thunderstorms and intense rainfall overnight has brought major flooding to central North Carolina. USGS raingages in Hoke and Alamance counties have reported 24-hour rainfall totals in excess of 7 inches. One streamgage on the Little River at Manchester, NC (USGS Station Number 02103000 in Cumberland County) has exceeded the period of record peak from 1945 of 29 feet and is still rising with a recorded gage height of 31.00 feet at 09:30EDT, exceeding the National Weather Service (NWS) defined major flood stage of 27.0 feet.
USGS has 5 crews (9 people) in the field today from the Raleigh Office of the South Atlantic Water Science Center monitoring streamgages and measuring streamflow at sites in central North Carolina. The streamgage on the Little River at Manchester (known by the NWS at Lower Little River at Manchester and NWS ID MANN7) was elevated this morning when it was at risk of being inundated and a streamflow measurement is being made to assist the Southeast River Forecast Center with information for flood forecast operations.
Staff from Raleigh will continue to monitor streamgages in central North Carolina, coordinate with the National Weather Service, Southeast River Forecast Center and the emergency management community and make streamflow or discharge measurements as needed to verify and updated stage-discharge ratings.