Mountain Flooding

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I thought you might like to see the extent of the flooding of our property after days of rain. There was one little pop-up stream of water that flowed behind our back porch and down the yard. A small drainage ditch between us and our neighbors carried a rushing stream to join the run-off. As you might be able to see, there was no danger to any of us during this deluge. Water collected in the pasture before going further downhill.

I could poke fun at the dire flood warnings, but there were people who were affected. According to local news, there were 10 students in Haywood County who could not be returned to their homes from school. A private bridge to one home had been destroyed, and water covered roads all around the county. The principals worked with the parents to arrange a meeting point to deliver the students.

David and I drove to Jonathan Creek as the rain let up. I took one photo from the bank where we usually stand to watch the stream.

I went upstream for another shot to show the clearance under the bridge. We watched sticks merrily riding the current, freely floating over the usual rocky obstacles. The sound was impressive, too. I know it would be dangerous to swim in a swollen stream, but part of me longed to jump in if the water had been warm. Note: there is no danger of warm water in a mountain stream. It’s always frigid.

David stopped the car near our home to let me take shots of Park Branch – two little streams that flow under the road. The first was near the large bend in the road, flowing from above the road.

The other photo shows Park Branch as it emerged from the pipe under the road closer to home, flowing below the road. I think a little footbridge was underwater. A day later there was debris on the bridge.

Snow clouds followed the rain. I never cease to be amazed that in the North Carolina mountains, snow drifts down from a blue sky. Obviously, the snow comes from clouds, but the clouds may have already blown over before the snow reaches the ground. I watched the mountains from my computer desk as they were blotted out by snow, only to reappear a few minutes later. We had nothing white on the ground after these flurries, but I loved watching the ever-changing landscape.

Published by Anne Mehrling

I'm a retiree who loves to write about life in the mountains of North Carolina.

Published

59 thoughts on “Mountain Flooding”

  4. So much water! It is pretty soggy here in PA too. There were snow flurries both days we were in Asheville. I hope when we come back in March it is more spring-like!

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  5. Wet here too. . The Mississippi and Pearl and Yazoo rivers seem to have forgotten their banks. The poor farmers who farm ” bottom land ” and other low areas are in trouble …again.

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  7. I’ve been in mountain streams…you are right Anne…even in August they are freezing! We have a lot of rain today in NJ. No snow! Thank goodness. The wind is blowing very hard…was a little worried about branches when I filled the bird feeders. So far everything is intact.

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  10. I really appreciate previous generations’ wisdom when we have flooding. I can see that they took precautions when they sited their houses away from water. Many people lately seem determined to live so close to the water that they get flooded. Thanks for the images and glad you were high and dry.

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      1. I was looking at Oregon flooding a place called something “Hollow.” Usually names like Tide Side, Creek Side, River Side, Marsh Road and the like are very good clues, as is Hollow, that they flood.

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  13. Wow, that is the example of what Mother Nature can do without asking permission Two years ago the rains took out my son’s garden that was on the river in Tryon. It looks like the house is high and there needs to be quite a bit more to affect your home. Beautiful photos.

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  15. Wow – I have heard about the bad weather in North Carolina and wondered if it affected you. One of the first blog posts of yours I read after following you showed the raging water and it looked gurgly, just like this shot.

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      1. So you remember that gurgly post … wow, I had thought that was incredible at the time.
        That might have been the initial post I saw … I did not tag my posts at that time and I had searched for a key word “walking” or “walk” and your post at the creek popped up. I think I mentioned that to you recently how I discovered you. We had more snow last night and we are getting 1-3 inches Sunday night and a more significant snowfall on Wednesday night – they are not predicting how many inches for that … Winter is here to stay I think. Walking will take a hit and I hope to get to the Park for my furry friends tomorrow before the snow begins in earnest.

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          1. I just put the news on a few minutes ago and they said it is snowing again in my part of town – looked, and yes. It snowed three times between Friday afternoon and when I went out this morning. Then snowed while I was out – it stopped and I walked to the Park as the streets were heavily salted so no worries about ice/snow. It was dicey down there at the Park though. I walked on the grass, but critters one to see, likely as I got there later than usual. The snow is bad enough but the freezing rain tomorrow night will be a pain – we have had a lot of freezing rain this Winter.

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  17. I have been trying to be good and get my year-end paperwork done, but did you see some of the gushing waterfall pics and videos? Geez, I would’ve loved to see some of those in person.

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  18. Anne, I’m glad there weren’t damage to any homes but I feel for the stranded students. The power of rivers should never be underestimated and here in England there have been so many floods this winter. Alas, much of new housing is built on old flood plains!

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      1. But this is amazing. I don’t know the real situation over there wether it is troubling you or not. But seems to be lovely.

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