Runoff from rains north and west prompts flood warning for Lumber River

Mar. 23—LUMBERTON — A flood warning will remain in effect throughout the week for areas in Lumberton, a National Weather Service meteorologist said Monday.

"This will not be a major event like a month or two ago. We had some significant flooding," Tim Armstrong said. "This is certainly not the same magnitude, thankfully."

The Lumber River's water level rose to 13.7 feet Monday afternoon and was predicted to crest Tuesday at 13.9 feet, the meteorologist said. From there it would take the remainder of the week to drop below flood stage, which is 13 feet.

"Assuming we don't get any significant rain, it may drop below flood stage on Sunday," Armstrong said. "Our forecast is not for any significant rainfall at all in Lumberton until Saturday."

Places that will be affected are low areas or drainage ditches near the Lumber River.

"This is more of nuisance flooding, where maybe it's hard to access a backyard that's really close to the river," Armstrong said.

Still, in an NWS warning issued Monday, motorists were urged to not attempt to drive through barricades or drive cars through flooded areas.

Pushing the Lumber River above flood stage is runoff from heavy rains that fell in northern and central North Carolina.

"They had some really significant rainfall for the past three to six days," Armstrong said.

This past week the National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for several areas throughout North Carolina, including the Southeast, causing officials in Robeson County to prepare for the worst.

"What it looks like happened, there were a cluster of thunderstorms that moved from Savannah to Charleston, South Carolina, that interrupted that flow of south winds that bring in the heat and moisture that really causes the tornadoes to form," Armstrong said. "It was really something that wasn't predictable until a few hours in advance, unfortunately."

"The worst part of that actually happened in the Greensboro area, and northeast of Raleigh there were several tornadoes that touched down there, so we were very fortunate in Southeastern North Carolina," he added.

The NWS expects to see more severe weather outbreaks in April and May.

"We'll be keeping a close eye on that," Armstrong said.

Tomeka Sinclair can be reached at [email protected] or 910-416-5865.