Bertha brings heavy downpours, flooding issues to Charlotte and surrounding areas
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - The remnants of Bertha brought heavy downpours and flooding issues to Charlotte and surrounding areas Wednesday after forming into a Tropical Storm and making landfall along the South Carolina coast earlier in the day.
Heavy tropical downpours and intermittent gusts spread across the WBTV viewing area Wednesday evening. Rain will continue into early Thursday morning, with the highest rainfall amounts mainly favoring communities east of the I-77 corridor as the center of the storm moves over Central North Carolinas.
A Flash Flood Warning was issued for Mecklenburg County in NC until 10:15 p.m. Wednesday, while an Areal Flood Warning was issued for Lancaster County until 8:15 p.m. Thursday.
The flooding got so bad in one area of Charlotte, a car got stuck in high water on the road.
A Chevrolet Impala was stopped in the high water after Briar Creek spilled onto Masonic Drive. A driver apparently tried to make it through the flooded road, but couldn’t make it through.
No one was with the car, as it remained stuck in the flooded road Wednesday night.
In west Mecklenburg County, a tree fell on a house on St. Evans Road.
Emergency medical officials say one person was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. The house had major damage.
In Fort Mill, a tree came down and also took down a power line. Electricity was reportedly out in the entire neighborhood.
With the ground still nearly saturated and stream levels elevated, these moderate to heavy downpours were expected to cause rapid stream rises and could lead to flash flooding, especially east of I-77.
This fast-moving system will exit the region overnight giving way to cloudy, but mostly dry conditions by daybreak Thursday.
Dense pockets of fog will likely pose a problem for anyone out on the roads early tomorrow morning. The fog lifts by mid-morning as temperatures climb from the mid-60s to the lower 80s Thursday afternoon.
An upper level low moving over the Ohio River Valley will push warm, moist air into Carolinas – allowing temperatures to reach and surpass seasonal average Thursday and Friday.
However, the return of warm conditions will come at a cost leading to the potential for the development of strong to severe storms during the afternoon and early evening hours both Thursday and Friday.
The cold front associated with the low will swing through the area late Saturday creating the opportunity for yet another round of scattered showers for the first half of the weekend. But drier, brighter and slightly cooler conditions will abide over the region Sunday and into the first part of the workweek.
First Alert Meteorologist Jonathan Stacey
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