Parts of southeastern North Carolina were slammed with flash flooding on Monday, as a relentless storm dumped rain totals rarely seen in hundreds of years.
Carolina Beach, Boiling Springs Lakes and Southport were among the hardest-hit areas, receiving more than a foot of rain in just 12 hours. According to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Wilmington, North Carolina, these kinds of deluges typically happen once every 200 years. In Carolina Beach, it was even worse—more than 18 inches fell in half a day, a downpour so extreme it only happens once in 1,000 years.
While the system wasn’t organized enough to earn a name as a tropical storm, the National Hurricane Center still flagged its potential for flash floods and winds that clocked in as high as 77 mph. By 5pm ET Monday, the storm’s center was just 45 miles west of Cape Fear, with sustained winds of 35 mph.
Locals in Carolina Beach faced floods up to three feet deep on some roads, the NWS reported, pleading with drivers to stop ignoring barricades and to avoid driving through waterlogged streets. The North Carolina Department of Transportation echoed the warning, sharing photos of a collapsed road in Southport and advising residents to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary.
The storm is expected to continue its path through the Carolinas, with heavy rains forecasted until Wednesday morning. The National Hurricane Center also warned that areas across the Mid-Atlantic could see isolated floods in the storm's wake.