Landslide blocks a western North Carolina road (Photo credit: Donna Kirkland Adkins via TWC Facebook page)
Heavy rainfall over the past several days have pushed rivers over their banks from the Deep South to the Southern Appalachians and Ohio Valley.
National Weather Service
Radar-estimated accumulated precipitation on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013. Heavier rainfall is indicated by yellow, orange and red shadings.
Tuesday's heavy rainfall triggered flooding from Alabama to western North Carolina.
- Several homes were flooded in Pigeon Forge and Walland, Tenn.
- Water rose to the foundations of buildings in Waynesville, N.C.
- Numerous roads were flooded and impassable near Vernon, Ala. Monday.
According to TWC Facebook fan Donna Kirkland Adkins, there were 3 landslides in her neighborhood, one of which had trapped 3 people in their cabin near Maggie Valley, N.C.
For what is typically one of the drier times of year, due to intrusions of Arctic air, these rainfall totals are quite impressive:
- Chattanooga, Tenn.: 6.03" of rain from Jan. 9-15.
- Knoxville, Tenn.: 5.94" of rain from Jan. 13-15.
- Huntsville, Ala.: 4.32" of rain from Jan. 13-15.
As of Wednesday morning, over 120 river gauges were at or above flood stage from east Texas and Louisiana to the Ohio Valley to Virginia and North Carolina.
Rain/Snow Forecast
Rain/Snow Forecast
(ALERTS: Flood watches and warnings)
Unfortunately, more locally heavy rainfall is likely.
Parts of north Georgia, east Tennessee, the Upstate of South Carolina, western North Carolina and southwest Virginia could see an additiona 1 to 4 inches of rain through at least early Thursday, before changing to wet snow later Thursday and ending.
Additional flash flooding and landslides are possible due to this additional rainfall.
(MORE: Prepare for a flood)
Oxford, Miss.
Associated Press
Jimmy Cajoleas walks under ice-covered crape myrtles at the University of Mississippi on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013.
