Local brief
Ended: Flash Flood Warning for McDowell County, NC (ran until 9 a.m. EDT Sunday, Oct. 11)
The National Weather Service Flash Flood Warning for McDowell County ended at 9 a.m. EDT Sunday, Oct. 11 (6 a.m. PDT). NWS still has Flood Advisory, Flood Watch in effect for parts of the county; check weather.gov.
Ended: This Flash Flood Warning ended at 9 a.m. EDT Sunday, Oct. 11 (6 a.m. PDT), and the National Weather Service no longer lists it as of 6:05 a.m. PDT Sunday, Oct. 11. NWS still has Flood Advisory, Flood Watch in effect for parts of the county; check weather.gov. Water can stay on roads and in washes after a warning ends, so still do not drive into floodwater.
What happened: Heavy rain fell on ground that was already soaked from days of rain. The National Weather Service office in Greenville-Spartanburg warned that flash flooding was happening or about to start. NWS calls this life-threatening flash flooding and says significant flooding that could reach some buildings may develop quickly, and evacuations may be needed. This rainfall will be capable of producing 1-2.5 inches in less than an hour over saturated soils.
Where: The warning covers McDowell County. Places NWS named include Marion, Spruce Pine, Celo, Old Fort, Pleasant Gardens, Lake James State Park and Linville Falls.
Until when: The warning ran until 9 a.m. EDT Sunday, Oct. 11 (6 a.m. PDT) and has ended.
Landslides: NWS says more heavy rain raises the risk of landslides and debris flows, especially where slides have happened before. If you hear rumbling, cracking trees or rocks moving, get away from the path of the slide right away.
Local reports: McDowell County Emergency Management said at 5:17 a.m. EDT Sunday (2:17 a.m. PDT) that heavy rain overnight caused flash flooding across parts of the county. More than 7 inches of rain fell in the Sugar Hill, Zion Hill and Crooked Creek communities, and 4 to 6 inches fell across much of the rest of the county. More heavy rain was expected before sunrise, and water levels were still high. Late Saturday, NC Emergency Management also reported landslides in McDowell County.
Chimney Rock sirens, Saturday night: Rutherford County Emergency Management first turned on its flash flood warning sirens at about 10:20 p.m. EDT Saturday for the Fall Creek area just north of Chimney Rock. It told people there to move away from the river and get to higher ground right away. If you are near the Rocky Broad River in the Chimney Rock and Lake Lure area, watch water levels closely; they can rise with little warning.
Earlier warnings: The earlier NWS warning that ran until 4:15 a.m. EDT Sunday, Oct. 11 (1:15 a.m. PDT) (Marion, Old Fort, Lake James, Lake James State Park, B.R. Parkway-Craggy To Little Switzerland, B.R. Parkway-Little Swit) has ended.
What to do: Turn around, don't drown. Never drive or walk into floodwater. Six inches of moving water can knock you down, and one to two feet can carry away a car. Stay away from creeks, streams, washes, rivers and low roads. Do not drive around barricades. If water starts rising near you, go to higher ground right away. Flooded roads are hard to see in the dark.
Stay informed: Check https://www.weather.gov/gsp/ for the latest from the National Weather Service, and follow ReadyNC from NC Emergency Management (https://www.readync.gov) and your county emergency management office. Turn on emergency alerts on your phone and keep it charged.
Find shelters and supplies: https://zost.app/pages/nc/mcdowell
Sources: National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg Flash Flood Warning via api.weather.gov (https://api.weather.gov/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.6c899531909a2e4b5b4dbd34cb0f5699e4b59287.001.1); NC Emergency Management on X relaying McDowell County Emergency Management (https://x.com/NCEmergency/status/2109214558610952538), its 10:50 p.m. Saturday update (https://x.com/NCEmergency/status/2109115218051649796) and Rutherford County Emergency Management (https://x.com/NCEmergency/status/2109107480420659465), and its 7:15 a.m. relay of Rutherford County Emergency Management's siren reactivation (https://x.com/NCEmergency/status/2109246760291836115). Updated 5:05 a.m. PDT Sunday, Oct. 11. Notice Nearby wrote this brief in its own words. More McDowell County notices: https://noticenearby.com/nc/mcdowell
Source: the public notice on this register NN-ENV-nc-mcdowell-flash-flood-warning-2026-10-1 · National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg Flash Flood Warning.
This is a Notice Nearby local brief — an in-house explainer written from a government-posted notice on this register. It is not official minutes, not a newspaper story, and not Legal Publication.