Neuse to flood, crest at 23 feet
By Steve Herring
Published in News on April 26, 2017 10:07 AM
The Neuse River is expected to reach its 18-foot flood stage later this afternoon and crest at 23.3 feet Sunday.
The level could rise even higher, according to the National Weather Service office in Raleigh.
The expected crest is a foot higher than an earlier projection of 22.1.
Moderate flooding is expected.
Wayne County Public Schools operated on a two-hour delay today because of some roads left flooded by nearly two days of rains that dumped up 7.5 inches of rain on the county.
The heavier rains, and most road flooding, were in the northern portion of the county.
Those flash floodwaters have receded, and the roads that were flooded are now passable, Mel Powers, Wayne County Office of Emergency Services director, said this morning.
The National Weather Service has extended its flood warning for Wayne County until further notice.
The river has been rising rapidly since Monday morning, when it measured 4 feet, after widespread heavy rain over a 36-hour period caused flooding upstream on the river.
That water worked its way downstream to Goldsboro late Tuesday night and as of 7 a.m. today, the Neuse River had reached 15.81 feet.
County and emergency services officials are expected to meet either this afternoon or Thursday morning to plan for any flooding associated with the Neuse River, Powers said.
Powers said the county has been in contact with the Army Corps of Engineers and North Carolina Emergency Management because of concerns over how the flooding could affect agriculture.
There are tobacco greenhouses in the Neuse Islands area that could be affected by river flooding, he said.
Also, the county has been in contact with officials at the Falls of the Neuse dam at Raleigh about any scheduled water releases which would affects areas downstream.
No decision has yet been made about any releases, Powers said.
At 18 feet, water begins to overflow the riverbanks and at 19.5 feet, Ferry Bridge Road near Grantham begins to flood, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Arrington Bridge Road and access roads around Seymour Johnson Air Force Base flood at 20 feet and at 21 feet, Riverview Trailer Park homes and Stevens Mill Road begin to flood, according to the FEMA data.
At 22 feet flooding begins on the base and at 22.5 feet evacuation of some homes in the Mar-Mac area and possibly the Buckhorn Island subdivision may be necessary.
Strobe lights at the end of the base runway flood when the river reaches 23 feet.
At 26 feet, flooding threatens to close U.S. 117.
The record of 29.7 feet was set last October in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.