A day after Debby hit Charlotte, cleanup — and stifling sun — are in the forecast
A day after Tropical Storm Debby dumped a record rainfall on Charlotte, knocking out power to thousands, emergency crews cleared more tree limbs and debris from roads on Friday.
Creeks and rivers swelled so much from Debby’s rains that a flood watch remained until 8 a.m. Friday for Charlotte. Rain continued overnight Thursday.
“Common, deeper flooding of low-lying areas adjacent to area streams is ongoing,” according to the National Weather Service watch issued Thursday night for Mecklenburg and surrounding counties. “Expect extensive flooding of farmland, parks, greenways, boat-access areas and golf courses.”
At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, heavy rains ended across Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties, NWS meteorologists said in the alert, but the 4 to 6 inches of rain Thursday “has resulted in significant rises along streams within the Rocky River watershed.”
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.
All Mecklenburg County parks and greenways were closed due to Debby-related flooding and debris, and will stay closed “until they are safely cleared,” Park and Recreation officials said on social media at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
Parks and preserves reopened by 12:45 p.m. Friday, officials said.
“Greenways are reopening while staff work to clear debris.,” according to a Park and Recreation post on X, the former Twitter, Friday afternoon. “Some areas may remain blocked off while work is taking place. Please continue to use caution when entering our facilities.”
As of 3 p.m. Thursday, the city of Charlotte had received 124 calls about downed trees, according to a social media post by the city. “Three tree maintenance contractors are actively assisting with clearing roads,” officials said.
At 6:30 a.m. Friday, city landscape management staff resumed inspecting requests for downed trees and clearing roads. Residents can view storm-related tree requests on the city website.
At least three Charlotte-area municipalities reported sewage spills due to Debby:
▪ In Lowell, 35,671 gallons of sewage spilled from the municipal treatment plant over about six hours Thursday, due to 4.2 inches of rain falling over 12 hours, officials said in a notice of discharge filing with the state.
▪ In Mooresville, an estimated 6,000 gallons of untreated sewage spilled into Dye Creek on Thursday at the Rocky River treatment plant, 369 Johnson Dairy Road.). Officials blamed Debby-induced flash flooding.
▪ In Harrisburg, about 1,050 gallons of untreated sewage discharged at Creekview Lane, near Rocky River Crossing Road and Roberta Road, according to a town news release Friday. The sewage entered the Rocky River and Yadkin Pee Dee River basin, officials said.
Another lingering effect from Debby on Friday: Power was still out in some parts of Mecklenburg County, according to the Duke Energy outages map.
Late Thursday, 4,200 Duke Energy customers in Mecklenburg County were without power, and it could take until 9:45 p.m. Friday to restore electricity to some, according to the outages map. At 8 a.m. Friday, Mecklenburg outages fell to 1,400.
The numbers were down from 24,000 Thursday morning.
The Charlotte post-storm forecast
While the flooding threat eased Friday, another outdoor threat loomed: the sun.
“Hot and humid conditions make a quick return, with heat indexes in the triple digits for much of the Piedmont,” National Weather Service meteorologists said on X.
Heat index values were expected to reach 102 in Charlotte, the NWS Charlotte forecast showed.
The heat index is what the weather feels like when temperature and humidity are combined.
The forecast otherwise called for a high near 90 on Friday under partly sunny skies, with only a slim, 30% chance of more rain through Thursday. Highs in the mid-80s are predicted through the week
The NWS warned of possible scattered showers and thunderstorms Friday afternoon and evening in the Charlotte area, Upstate South Carolina and the mountains, Thunderstorms could dump heavy rainfall, according to an NWS hazardous weather outlook bulletin.
Staff Writer John Marks of The (Rock Hill) Herald contributed.
This story was originally published August 9, 2024 at 6:00 AM.