Tropical Storm Debby: Record Charlotte rainfall leaves thousands without power
Tropical Storm Debby dumped a record rainfall on Charlotte Thursday that left thousands without power.
All Mecklenburg County parks and greenways were closed indefinitely due to flooding and debris.
The National Weather Service extended a flash flood warning for the county until 7 p.m.
In their warning, NWS meteorologists said heavy rainfall ended just before 2 p.m. across Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties, “but numerous streams remain well above bank-full following 3.5-5.5 inches of rainfall earlier today.”
Waterways above minor flood stage included Little Sugar Creek, Briar Creek, Irwin Creek, McDowell Creek, Mallard Creek, Rocky River and Coddle Creek, according to the NWS alert.
”Please avoid flooded and barricaded roadways and stay away from all streams through this evening,” NWS forecasters said. “It will take many more hours for streams to crest and recede back below critical levels.”
Charlotte’s airport logged 4.09 inches of rain, breaking the previous record of 1.37 inches for Aug. 8 set in 1928, according to the NWS office in Greer, South Carolina. Government rain gauges indicated at least 4 inches fell across the Charlotte area Thursday.
Downed trees, overflowing creeks
Just before 4:30 p.m., Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation officials said parks and greenways will remain closed until they “are safely cleared.”
Photos posted by residents on X showed Toby Creek at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte overflowing its banks and nearly consuming two pedestrian bridges. Photos and video depicted flooding and rapids along Little Sugar Creek Greenway in the South Park area of Charlotte.
As of 3 p.m., the city of Charlotte received 124 calls about downed trees, according to a post by the city on X. “Three tree maintenance contractors are actively assisting with clearing roads,” officials said.
And just before 5 p.m., Huntersville Fire officials said crews continued to respond to calls about power lines and trees down, water across roads, and fire alarms.
National Guard members assisted residents whose mobile homes in west Charlotte were surrounded by flood waters, Charlotte Observer news partner WSOC reported.
In Matthews, firefighters pumped thousands of gallons of water to prevent a cresting dam from flooding 16 homes, Battalion Chief Peter Blaich told The Charlotte Observer and other media at the scene.
Outages linger into the night
At 2 p.m. Thursday, the center of Debby was 55 miles southeast of Charlotte, in Chesterfield County, South Carolina, trudging along at 10 mph with 40-mph maximum winds, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The eye will pass well to the east of Charlotte, in Anson or Montgomery counties, NWS meteorologist Trisha Palmer said.
Debby was downgraded to a tropical depression Thursday afternoon, as winds diminished to 35 mph. Still, heavy rainfall was expected to persist across the Carolinas, with potentially “catastrophic flooding” in Mid-Atlantic states and the Northeast through Saturday morning, according to a 5 p.m. National Hurricane Center update.
Duke Energy reported more than 24,000 Mecklenburg County customers without power Thursday morning. At 3 p.m., about 19,500 were still without electricity, and thousands more in surrounding counties, according to the company outage map:
- 1,500 in Cabarrus County
- 4,500 in Gaston County
- 2,900 in Iredell County
- 7,700 in Rowan County
At 6 p.m., 16,300 Mecklenburg County customers had no power.
Bands of rain could hit Charlotte into Friday morning, National Weather Service meteorologists said.
“The combination of persistent gusty winds and wet soils from heavy rainfall will lead to scattered trees & power lines down, with the greatest risk along & east of I-77,” NWS forecasters said on X, the former Twitter, at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Runoff from Debby could flood streets, rivers and creeks, NWS forecasters warned in a flood watch.
Driving could be treacherous, emergency officials said. “Stay home if you can,” Gastonia Police urged Wednesday night.
Union County was in a state of emergency.
Monroe spokesperson Bradley Lucore said several city facilities, like the Monroe Science Center and Sutton Park Community Center, as well as all parks, lakes and recreation summer camps and programming, were closed or canceled.
Lt. Catherine Hower said rain started falling at 1:30 a.m. Thursday in Monroe and continued coming down harder throughout the night because of the wind. There were no signs of flooding and all drains appeared to be working properly.
“The wind was blowing at approximately 21-25 MPH, making the rain come down in sheets blowing across the road. This made visibility difficult at times, especially to see the lines on the road,” Hower said.
Water pooled on the side of roads, and in the tire indentations of Highway 75 and Pageland Highway, she said, which increased the possibility of hydroplaning. And some limbs and debris had to be moved out of the roadways.
The NWS on Tuesday issued a flood watch from late Wednesday through Friday for Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Iredell, Union and Rowan counties and the South Carolina counties of York and Chester.
The latest expected rainfall totals could produce “numerous instances of flash flooding, with significant flooding possible,” according to the flood watch alert.
Tracking Tropical Storm Debby in NC
The eastern part of the state is also at risk of flash flooding. Southeastern North Carolina expected another 3 to 6 inches of rain through Friday, bringing rainfall totals as high as 15 inches in some places.
In Lucama, a town just over 50 miles east of Raleigh, a man was found dead inside of his home, which was damaged by a tornado, ABC 11 reported. At least 10 other homes were damaged, and portions of a middle school were destroyed.
Some voluntary evacuations began Wednesday in Eastern North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper said during news conference in Raleigh that morning.
“We expect this storm to continue its slow, gradual approach, bringing multiple days of heavy rainfall and the potential for widespread and severe flash flooding,” Cooper said. “Have an emergency plan for your household.”
Charlotte Fire’s swift water rescue team was deployed to Elizabethtown in Bladen County on Wednesday morning to lend assistance. The Harrisburg Fire Department also deployed crews to Bladen County, while North Carolina Emergency Management activated Mooresville Fire-Rescue’s 11-member swiftwater rescue team to Harnett County.
By Wednesday night, the Charleston NWS office confirmed four Debby-spawned tornadoes: EF1s on Edisto Beach and in Moncks Corner; and EF0s on Kiawah Island and Lady’s Island.
Those are the weakest of six tornado classifications on the NWS Enhanced Fujita Scale based on wind speed and damage.
Later Thursday, the storm was expected to accelerate toward the north across central North Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center. Debby is then expected to move faster across the U.S. Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Friday and the coast of Canada on Saturday. That’s because Debby is “very slow moving” and not traveling in a straight line, he said.
Through Saturday morning, the storm could dump 10 to 20 inches of rain on southeast Georgia, South Carolina’s coastal plain and southeast North Carolina, The News & Observer reported. Some areas could see up to 30 inches.
Charlotte Douglas airport delays
Passengers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport were still seeing lots of problems. As of 11:30 a.m. Thursday, 392 flights were delayed and 12 were canceled at CLT, according to FlightAware, an online website providing real-time information. That’s makes for a total of 404 disruptions.
Over the weekend, CLT had a total of 1,651 flights delayed. Since the weekend and through Thursday morning, 3,764 delayed and canceled flights were reported.
American Airlines is continuing to monitor the storm’s track, according to spokeswoman Bri Harper. The company accounts for 87% of all flights out of Charlotte Douglas.
Customers whose travel plans are affected by Debby may rebook without change fees, according to a travel alert issued by American Airlines. They can reschedule travel at aa.com or by contacting reservations at 800-433-7300 in the U.S. or Canada.
Charlotte Douglas will remain open during the storm for stranded passengers, CLT officials said.
Customers took to social media to complain about their experiences Thursday.
One user on X (formerly known as Twitter) wrote on Thursday morning: “Those Charlotte cancellations really put a damper on my week. Ended up sleeping in a seedy hotel at the Phoenix airport for three hours.”
Charlotte-area school districts cancel classes due to Debby
Charlotte-area school districts, including Mooresville Graded School District, Rowan-Salisbury Schools and Stanly County Schools canceled classes Thursday.
For Rowan-Salisbury Schools and Stanly County Schools, Thursday was set to be the first day of the 2024-25 school year. Mooresville Graded School District began Wednesday.
North Carolina’s school calendar law requires districts to wait until Aug. 26 to begin classes, in an effort to create a standard summer vacation season for the tourism industry. However, about 25% of the state’s 115 school boards have voted to defy the law and start classes earlier. Mooresville Graded School District and Stanly County Schools fall under this umbrella.
Rowan-Salisbury Schools have a special exception from the school calendar law, due to persistently low school performance.
Where could Charlotte flood?
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To prevent flooding on Charlotte streets, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services urged residents to check storm drains near their homes and clear any blockages. Mecklenburg County offices are closed for in-person services Thursday.
Parts of the Charlotte area closest to creeks and rivers are the most likely to flood. That includes roads that cross over Briar Creek or Little Sugar Creek.
Mecklenburg County residents can use Storm Water Services’ interactive map to see the exact flood risk for their home or business.
To use the map, visit maps.mecklenburgcountync.gov/3dfz and enter the address in question. The program will then detail whether the property is in a floodplain, its risk level for flooding and tips for reducing the risk of flooding.
What roads are blocked in Charlotte?
To see which roads are closed in your area, you can use this live list at charlottenc.gov. The list is updated every three minutes, according to the website.
Charlotte Motor Speedway campgrounds open to evacuees
At noon Wednesday, Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord opened its campgrounds to coastal and other evacuees.
Campers should check in at the Camping World Racing Resort office, 6600 Bruton Smith Blvd., which can be accessed at the entrance to zMAX Dragway.
After-hours arrivals should park near the camping office and check in during regular business hours. Evacuees will have access to speedway bathhouses.
Reporters Chase Jordan and Rebecca Noel contributed
This is a developing story that will be updated.
This story was originally published August 8, 2024 at 8:08 AM.
