Forecasters expect rain to end; dry weather on the horizon
Published 12:24 pm Thursday, November 15, 2018
A car splashes through water on Old Mocksville Road near Eagle Heights. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
Traffic along Old Mocksville Road was forced to reroute after the city put up barricades because of water running over the road. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
Water falls over a spillway at the Greenway bridge long Grove Street in Salisbury. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
Water falls over a spillway at the Greenway bridge long Grove Street. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
The creek along the Greenway on Grove Street moves along at a steady pace but was not flooded. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
By Shavonne Walker
shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — Dry weather is on the horizon for Salisbury and Rowan County, says a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Weather observers reported an accumulation of 1.05 inches near Spencer and 1.38 inches near Faith from 7 a.m. Wednesday through 7 a.m. Thursday.
“The heavier rainfall has already tapered off. You will see another two hours of off-and-on light drizzle, and the rain will end, …” said meteorologist Justin Lane with the Weather Service office in Greenville, South Carolina.
He said clouds were expected to clear Thursday evening and area residents can expect it to be dry over the next several days.
“There’s an area of low pressure moving up the Southeast coast that is essentially what’s causing the rain,” he said.
Chris Tester, stormwater manager for the city of Salisbury, said there were reports of flooded roads in the city, including the 700 block of North Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. That road was blocked for a period Thursday. Flooding was also reported in the 1400 block of Old Mocksville Avenue and the 600 block of Prescot Drive.
Old Mocksville Avenue was reopened after a couple of hours.
Tester said the city had a crew set up to respond to flood calls. Crews also cleared debris from storm drains.
The stormwater division along with the Salisbury Fire Department monitored areas known to flood. The city’s sign staff was on standby to place barricades where needed.
Battalion Chief TJ Brown with the Rowan County Emergency Services Division said some creeks and roads overflowed from the rain this week, including Hollywood Drive at Grubb Ferry Road.
“They had to close the road a little bit, in the wee hours of Tuesday night, Wednesday morning for a brief period when Graham Road overflowed near Back Creek,” Brown said.
He said the dispatch received a call reporting high water between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. These are areas where emergency personnel usually see localized flooding or standing water.
Brown said by the time he went to Graham Road, the water had receded.
“The rain subsided, and the water levels went back pretty quickly,” he said. “But the ground is still saturated.”
Thursday’s rain looked a little different, with responders seeing many places with standing water, including yards and ditches that normally don’t have a lot of water.
Brown said the most important thing to note during periods of heave rain and subsequent flooding is to not try to drive through it.
He was reminded of the the last time Hollywood Drive flooded and a driver went around a barricade and got stuck.
“You don’t know what’s underneath the water,” Brown cautioned.
