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Description
Hurricane Isabel struck the northeast coast of North
Carolina on September 18. The storm
brought widespread 4-6 inches of rainfall to the Tar River and
Chowan River basins, with most
of this rain falling in less than 12 hours.
The storm generated widespread significant flooding, primarily in
the Chowan River basin.
Major flooding was observed at 4 of the 6 river gages in the Chowan
basin forecast by the
SERFC, including the Nottaway River at gages near Rawlings, VA, near
Stony Creek, VA, and
near Sebrell, VA, and the Blackwater River near Franklin, VA.
Moderate flooding was observed
along the Meherrin River, both at gages near Lawrenceville, VA and
at Emporia, VA.
While this storm triggered major flooding, it was not close to the
record flooding brought on
by Hurricane Floyd almost exactly 4 years earlier. There are two big
differences between
the two storms. First, Floyd generated more rainfall (5 to 10 inches
in the Chowan basin) than
Isabel. Perhaps more significant, Floyd followed closely on the
heels of Hurricane Dennis,
which dumped 4 to 8 inches in the Chowan basin less than two weeks
before Floyd arrived.
Fortunately, Isabel rained on dry ground. |
