Charleston slammed by flash flooding as stubborn front soaks the Southeast
Dozens of roads are closed due to the flash flooding in Charleston, North Charleston and Mount Pleasant, according to National Weather Service storm reports.
Stalled front fueling floods in Southeastern US
Charleston, South Carolina is already experiencing flash flooding as a stalled cold front hangs over the southeast. Rounds of rain are expected on and off through the weekend.
CHARLESTON, S.C. – A slow-moving cold front that helped protect the Eastern Seaboard from a direct strike by Hurricane Erin is now soaking parts of the South and Southeast, causing widespread flash flooding in Charleston, South Carolina and dampening the end of the week for many others.
Dozens of roads are closed due to the flash flooding in Charleston, North Charleston and Mount Pleasant, according to National Weather Service storm reports.
Charleston International Airport, which received nearly 3 inches of rain in just 35 minutes during one potent thunderstorm, has some roads in front of the international terminals covered in floodwaters and impassable, airport officials reported.
Residents are encouraged by local officials to stay off the roads and do not drive through flooding.
Charleston County Emergency Medical Services reports it is moving to modified operations during the flash flooding, meaning patients needing transport will be taken to the nearest appropriate hospital for treatment.
Flash flooding risk expands into Georgia
The front has been slowly cutting south across the East but is running into an atmospheric roadblock on Friday as it reaches the Gulf Coast, according to the FOX Forecast Center. And while Hurricane Erin is now racing away from North America, strong flow behind the storm is smashing into the frontal boundary, enhancing the available rainfall for Friday.
The greatest risk of flash flooding will stretch from around Charleston through that state's Low Country and into southeastern Georgia, including Savannah.
Charleston Area Rainfall Forecast
NOAA's Weather Prediction Center (WPC) has issued a Level 2 out of 4 flash flood risk for the area, while the National Weather Service has Flood Watches in effect.
Friday Flash Flood Risk
With storms lingering into Saturday, rainfall rates there could reach 2-3 inches per hour in heavier and slow-moving thunderstorms, with some storm totals reaching 3-5 inches by later Saturday.
But while the flash flood risk is lower across the rest of the Southeast and Gulf Coast, rainfall totals will still likely reach 1-2 inches through the weekend as the front hangs around.
Southeast Rain Forecast
The WPC is maintaining a Level 1 risk across much of the area for Saturday, but may be upgraded if moisture trends continue to increase, according to the FOX Forecast Center
Cold front led to Flash Flood Emergency in Virginia
The front has already left its flooding fingerprints in the mid-Atlantic. On Thursday night, flash flooding hit parts of Southwest Virginia and Northern North Carolina where some areas saw nearly 5 inches of rain in just three hours.
Roanoke, Virginia, received a whopping 3.39 inches of rain in just one hour, triggering a Flash Flood Emergency. The NWS reported nearly a dozen high-water rescues as streets became submerged and vehicles stalled.
The city's daily rain total of 4.27 inches, which fell in just two hours, was the third-wettest August day in the city's history and the fourth-wettest date since 1980, the NWS said.
Forecasters there said that corresponded to about a 1-in-500-year flood event, or about a 0.2% chance of rainfall of that magnitude occurring in any given year.