Florence the wettest tropical system on record for both North and South Carolina

Elizabethtown, NC received three feet of rain

ROANOKE, Va. – Some will claim that Florence was "over-hyped," because it didn't make landfall as a Category 4. Fair enough. However, this storm was indeed historic with regards to rainfall in North and South Carolina. That message was communicated very clearly by a large portion of the meteorological community.

Florence broke all-time rainfall records due to tropical systems in both North and South Carolina. In Elizabethtown, North Carolina they received three feet of rain over just a few days. In Loris, South Carolina they received two feet of rain. 

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This is all due to the fact that Florence moved at a snail's pace through each state. At some points, Florence was moving slower than the average human walking speed. 

Let's put these astronomical rain totals in perspective. 

The rain observed in Loris, South Carolina is as much rain as we saw in Roanoke between January and late June.

Elizabethtown's three feet of rain is as much rain as we saw in the Star City between January 1 and August 21. 

Let's also not forget that this has been our 7th wettest year-to-date on record in Roanoke too. That just makes the rainfall seen in the Carolinas that much more eye-opening.

For Virginia, the wettest tropical system to impact us was Camille in 1969. That's when 27 inches of rain fell over parts of Nelson County.


About the Author:

Meteorologist Chris Michaels is an American Meteorological Society (AMS) Certified Broadcaster, forecasting weather conditions in southwest Virginia on WSLS 10 News from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays on Virginia Today.