Hurricane Joaquin likely bringing more rain to already drenched Carolinas

The Charlotte area is bracing for Hurricane Joaquin, a growing storm that could bring heavy rain to parts of the region already drenched by a week of steady precipitation.

Joaquin was upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday night and had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

For Charlotte, that could mean 4 to 8 inches of rain over four days starting Thursday. Authorities believe the rain could cause minor flooding, especially in low-lying areas near streams and creeks.

The rain will be particularly heavy east of Interstate 77 and in parts of the North Carolina foothills on Friday.

To prepare, workers with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services began searching notoriously flood-prone areas on Wednesday for clogged drains and anything that would impede water flow in creeks.

“We’re investigating trouble spots where we know people have had flooding in the past for anything that will impede the flow of a lot of water,” said Mark Boone, a spokesman for Storm Water Services. “We fan the county to make sure our maintenance of infrastructure is kept up and where we know there’s construction nearby that could cause problems for us.”

Storm Water Services also asked residents to identify flood risks near their homes, report clogged storm drains (by calling 311) and map evacuation routes.

“We really want people to let us know now before there’s any heavy rain if they see a blockage and don’t feel comfortable to clear it, to call us,” Boone said. “If we get the (rain) volume that we’re expecting in this forecast, we need all the capacity we can get.”

He said the stormwater system and creeks “are in great shape now” to handle up to 2 inches of rain in an hour. Yet in floodplains and in some low-lying urban areas, an inch of rain an hour could cause flooding – especially with the ground saturated from rain in the past several days.

Garry McCormick, a battalion chief with the Charlotte Fire Department who’s assigned to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management, said he has been monitoring the hurricane’s track and rainfall predictions.

It’s rare for the city to bring in extra firefighters, he said. The roughly 250 firefighters who will be on duty each day are trained for the type of swiftwater rescues that can occur during urban flooding, McCormick said. And two stations that respond to floods with rescue boats will be staffed around the clock.

The department’s biggest concerns are always people who try to walk or drive through flooded streets.

“Sometimes (floodwater) will just take the streets out; it’ll take the sidewalks out,” McCormick said. “Just because they can see across the water, they think the street’s still there. People can walk through flooded water, and the next step they take, the street’s gone and the sidewalk’s gone.”

Although rain bands from Joaquin will hit the region as early as Thursday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center’s long-term forecast showed the storm could approach the East Coast north of North Carolina by early next week.

“Residents of the Carolinas north should be paying attention and monitoring the storm. There's no question,” said Eric Blake, a hurricane specialist with the center. “If your hurricane plans got a little dusty because of the light hurricane season, now is a good time to update them.”

Staff writer Joe Marusak and The Associated Press contributed.

This story was originally published September 30, 2015 at 6:37 AM with the headline "Hurricane Joaquin likely bringing more rain to already drenched Carolinas."