Regional News
Email
Print
Region escapes major flooding after heavy rainfall
Totals were 1 to 6 inches; another sinkhole occurs - this time in King
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: June 6, 2009
This week's heavy rain swelled creeks and rivers, knocked out power to some areas, and caused a sinkhole near King, but it spared most residents in Northwest North Carolina from any major flooding.
Areas east of Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro received 3 to 6 inches of rain since Thursday morning, said Barrett Smith, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.
Forsyth and Davidson counties received 1 to 3 inches during that time, and most areas in Northwest North Carolina received about 1½ inches, the weather service said.
Today should be partly cloudy to mostly sunny in the region, with high temperatures ranging from the mid-70s in Boone to the lows 80s in Winston-Salem and Greensboro.
There is no forecast of rain in the area, said David Wert, a meteorologist for the weather service in Blacksburg, Va.
"It will be much nicer today than what it has been," Wert said.
The weather service issued flood warnings yesterday for Davidson and Forsyth counties, saying that rising waters in creeks could lead to flooding. No significant problems were reported.
The weather service cautioned that some rivers and creeks would continue to run high for several hours after the rain stopped.
At one point yesterday, about 900 Duke Energy customers were without power in Forsyth County, Duke Energy Corp. reported on its Web site. Most of the power had been restored by 6 p.m.
Crews from the N.C. Department of Transportation worked yesterday to repair a sinkhole that developed on N.C. 66 near Ridgecrest Drive in King. The sinkhole was reported about 4 a.m., authorities said.
Heavy rain had washed out rock surrounding a pipe under the road, said David Spainhour, a DOT maintenance engineer.
It caused a sinkhole that was 30 feet long, 4 feet deep and 3 feet wide. DOT employees used about 1,800 pounds of rock to repair the sinkhole in about eight hours, Spainhour said.
Wert said that for flash flooding to occur in the foothills and mountainous areas of Northwest North Carolina, several conditions must exist.
Low-lying areas near creeks and rivers are most prone to flooding. "It depends on how quickly the rain comes down, what the topography is, and how moist the ground is from previous rains," Wert said.
Flooding can occur when an area receives 1 to 6 inches of rain, he said.
Creeks can flood when an inch of rain falls in 15 minutes or less. And flooding also can occur during a steady rain of 6 inches over several hours.
The rain forced some cancellations, including Forsyth Medical Center's Employee Appreciation picnic scheduled for today at Tanglewood Park. More than 10,000 employees had been invited to the picnic.
But event planners said that soggy ground at the park prevented the setup and inspection of entertainment and ride areas.
■ John Hinton can be reached at 727-7299 or at jhinton@wsjournal.com.
■ Paul Garber can be reached at 727-7327 or at pgarber@wsjournal.com.
Email
Print
