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HEAVY RAINS, FLOODS TAKE DEADLY TOLL

March 20, 2002 — A slow-moving storm surging from the Gulf of Mexico continued its deluge of heavy rainfall from Texas to Virginia on Wednesday, dumping up to seven inches in some areas and triggering flash floods on top of record flooding from rain that began falling Sunday, according to NOAA's National Weather Service. (Click national weather chart from NOAA's Hydrometeorological Prediction Center for larger view which shows the latest rainfall data as of 7 a.m. EST March 20, 2002. Click here to view latest rainfall totals, which are posted each day at approximately 3 p.m. EST. The bar code on the left shows rainfall in inches.)

Rain from the weekend brought death and record floods to parts of eastern Kentucky, Tennessee, southwestern Virginia and western North Carolina. In Tennessee, the floods claimed at least seven residents, and caused 100 more to evacuate in Sevier County. As the rains and floods headed east to Virginia, it prompted at least 400 people to evacuate in Wise County, and another 30 families to leave their homes in Washington County.

Tuesday night, the Dallas/Ft. Worth-area was hammered with 4.29 inches of rain, breaking a 1968 record for March 19 precipitation. Rainfall amounts in an area spanning from north-central Texas and southeast Oklahoma to northwest Arkansas ranged from one to five inches.

"This storm is dropping a lot of rain and there was no place for the water to go," said Frank Richards, a NOAA hydrologist. "The key point residents must remember is stay away from the water. Don't drive near it, just stay clear as best as you can and cooperate with evacuation orders."

Forecasters said the heavy rains are now moving through the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, and rain totals are dropping as the storm exits the East Coast. A relatively cold, but dry airmass will move in behind this system starting Thursday and bring unseasonably cold temperatures for the eastern half of the country into the weekend.

On Tuesday, National Weather Service forecasters said serious flooding occurred on the Cumberland River in Kentucky, along the Clinch and North Fork of the Holston Rivers in Virginia, and the Powell River in Tennessee. People living along the Cumberland evacuated before the flood waters reached their roof tops. On the North Fork River of the Holston River at Saltwell, Va., where flood stage is 10 feet, the waters pushed to a record crest of 14.88 feet. The Clinch River crested almost 10 feet above flood stage Tuesday morning.

Streams in eastern Kentucky starting to recede on Wednesday, but the situation remained perilous, NOAA forecasters said. The town of Morehead in northeast Kentucky began evacuating residents early Tuesday morning as Triplett Creek reached just a fraction of an inch below its record flood stage of 18.9 feet.

Before the floods began Sunday, National Weather Forecast offices in Nashville and Morristown, Tenn., Jackson, Ky., and Blacksburg, Va., provided flash flood warnings with lead times up to two hours. Forecasters had lead times of as much as six hours for
the rivers that typically rise after a heavy dousing of rain.

Some areas affected by the floods had been experiencing moderate drought conditions, Richards said, adding even in drought-impacted areas, heavy rains can produce killer floods. "We don't want people to become complacent about the threat of flooding when their area is in a drought. In much of the East, it's likely we'll see more localized flooding well before we break out of this drought."

The rain will reduce the severity of the drought, but states from Georgia to Maine continue to endure moderate-to-extreme drought conditions. "This rain event will provide only limited relief. Current rainfall amounts are only a small fraction of the long-term precipitation deficits," Richards added.

Sol Summer, the National Weather Service's Eastern Region hydrologist said, "The heaviest rains fell south and west of the major city reservoir areas in the northeast. With the absence of snowpack in these areas, rainfall over the next two months will be critical for the area water supplies."

In the near term, surface layers of the soil will be moistened and vegetation will flourish, Richards said. "But without additional, much above-average precipitation, drought concerns will persist into spring and summer."

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA's National Weather Service Eastern Region

NOAA's National Weather Service Southern Region

NOAA's Hydrologic Information Center

Current Hydrologic Conditions

River Conditions from NOAA's Hydrologic Information Center — includes national graphic

NOAA's Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Services

NOAA's Flooding Page

NOAA's River Forecast Centers

FLOODS: AMONG THE GREATEST NATURAL DISASTERS

Media Contact:
John Leslie, NOAA's National Weather Service, (301) 713-0622

 

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