News

Floodwaters to rise through Saturday

By Bill Moss, Published: December 28, 2018

Heavy rain throughout the day will produce flooding in Henderson County along the French Broad River, Mud Creek and tributaries, the National Weather Service said. Floodwaters are moving down the French Broad from Rosman to Blantyre and will eventually reach Fletcher. The river is expected to crest at 2 feet above flood stage by Saturday afternoon, the weather service said.

In an alert issued Thursday night, Henderson County Emergency Service Director Jimmy Brissie said the heavy rain was likely to produce flash flooding along streams and creeks and minor flooding in the river basins. Elevations of 3,500 feet and higher could also see very windy conditions with gusts of 40-50 mph and the possibility of scattered power outages. Duke Energy 1,160 customers in the county without power on Friday morning with power restoration estimated by 1:45 p.m. Friday.

The National Weather Service called for a 90 percent chance of rain today. Things improve weather-wise Saturday even as the floodwaters continue to rise, with a high of 57 under mostly sunny skies. Chance of rain returns Sunday, at 40 percent. There's an 80 percent chance of rain New Year's Eve after dark and 60 percent chance on New Year's Day.