Charleston crushes 126-year-old rainfall record as Southeast, mid-Atlantic blasted by flooding rain

NOAA's Weather Prediction Center is concerned about additional flooding and has placed millions of people in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic in a Level 2 out of 4 flood threat on Sunday and Monday.

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Roads in Charleston, South Carolina, were impassable due to flooding on Sunday after torrential rain drenched cities across the Southeast and mid-Atlantic as deep tropical moisture flows in from the Gulf.

After steady rain and storms on Saturday, more potentially record-breaking precipitation is expected Sunday and Monday.

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According to the National Weather Service, Charleston International Airport in South Carolina has received 1.99 inches of rain since midnight. This breaks the rainfall record for May 11 of 1.93 inches, set in 1952.

In addition, downtown Charleston has received 2.06 inches of rain since midnight. That crushes the previous record rainfall for May 11 of 1.57 inches, set 126 years ago in 1899.

In Florida, Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport in Panama City picked up a whopping 0.75 inches of rain in just eight minutes between 3:56 a.m. and 4:04 a.m. CT, which is a staggering rainfall rate of 5.63 inches an hour.

Panama City's two-hour rainfall total between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. CT was 2.26 inches.

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The slow-moving storm system lingering along the Gulf Coast is expected to continue sending waves of rain and thunderstorms across parts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas on Mother’s Day and into the start of the new workweek.

Some communities could see over 4 inches of rain, especially where thunderstorms linger over a region. The ground in many areas will already be saturated from earlier rain, so it won’t take much to trigger flash flooding.

On Sunday morning, numerous Flash Flood Warnings were issued in parts of Alabama, Florida and South Carolina due to the relentless rounds of heavy rain. Those have since expired.

This graphic shows the flood threat on Sunday, May 11, and Monday, May 12.
(FOX Weather)


 

NOAA's Weather Prediction Center is concerned about additional flooding and has placed millions of people in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic in a Level 2 out of 4 flood threat on Sunday and Monday.

Florida, southern Georgia and southern South Carolina are in the bull's-eye for the heaviest rain on Sunday, but parts of Alabama, Mississippi and even western North Carolina could also see localized flooding.

This graphic shows the additional forecast rain through Wednesday, May 14, 2025.
(FOX Weather)


 

Western North Carolina is still in recovery mode after communities there were decimated by Hurricane Helene's onslaught last year, although rainfall totals in that region aren't expected to be anywhere near what was experienced during that deadly and historic event.

The storm system is expected to slowly drift into the Tennessee Valley by Monday, spreading rain into the Carolinas and Virginia.

Flood Watches are expected to expand as the situation continues to unfold early this week, so residents are urged to prepare.

The system is expected to exit the region by Tuesday, and rainfall totals are expected to remain in the 3-5 inch range for most areas. However, isolated totals of up to 7 inches could fall in some parts of western North Carolina and Virginia.

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