Haywood County Emergency Services reports around 35 people still unaccounted for with search-and-rescue operations ongoing, and “significant damage to roads and bridges, especially in Cruso”.Īlong with rainfall, Fred produced at least three confirmed tornadoes. That area was hit particularly hard by the storm. West of there, the Pigeon River reached major flood stage early Wednesday morning with its fourth-highest crest on record, and the river inundated bridges and roads in the town of Canton. In Buncombe County, the French Broad in Asheville and the Swannanoa River at Biltmore both hit moderate flood stage on Wednesday. The nearby French Broad River in Rosman crested above flood stage twice in that period: after Monday’s storms and after Fred’s additional rainfall, at that point reaching its second-highest crest on record. Near Brevard, weather radar estimates more than ten inches fell between Sunday morning and Wednesday morning. (Map from the Fire Weather Intelligence Portal) Precipitation totals over the 7-day period from August 11 to 18 at 8 am, from station reports and radar estimates. The Asheville Airport picked up 4.80 inches during that time, which left the nearby French Broad River in Fletcher rising with little time to recover before the next storm hit. Moisture moving in from the south fueled locally intense thunderstorms on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.ĭuring that three-day period, our ECONet station at Frying Pan Mountain on the Haywood/Transylvania County line recorded 6.08 inches, all prior to Fred’s arrival. The Rainfall Before FredĮven before Fred reached the Florida coastline, parts of western North Carolina had already endured a wet weekend. ![]() To understand the reasons for and extent of these impacts, we must first rewind a few days. Like Claudette in June and Elsa in July, Tropical Storm Fred tracked through the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall along the Gulf coast, and its remnants had an impact on North Carolina - this time in the western part of the state.ĭespite its strength as only a tropical depression as it crossed the Appalachians, Fred had a potent punch with rapidly rising rivers, flooded roads, and even a few tornadoes. The third tropical storm to affect North Carolina in the past two months targeted the Mountains with heavy rainfall and flooding this week.
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