It rained and rained and rained some more Friday. Schools dismissed early, a key high school football game was postponed and some trees toppled. More than 250 Four County EMC customers in the Ruskin area near N.C. 53 lost power for a time in the evening, according to the utility’s outage map.
Overall, however, as of 9 p.m., Bladen County had avoided any major issues from a day-long soaking brought about as a pair of weather systems came together, said Emergency Services Director Bradley Kinlaw. A state of emergency has not been declared for the county. The N.C. Department of Transportation had no reports of closed roads as of 11 p.m.
About 5 1/2 inches of rain was recorded at Elizabethtown’s Curtis L. Brown Jr. Field Airport as of 11 p.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Nearly 5 inches had been measured in Bladen Online’s CoCoRaHS rain gauge located in the Cape Owen Manor subdivision near Dublin.
None of the three lock and dams along the Cape Fear River in Bladen County are expected to reach flood stage through Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service’s Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service, although that could change with more rain.
The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for about four hours Friday night as small streams were in danger of flooding nearby areas. A flood watch, which means there is a potential for flooding based on current forecasts, remains in effect until 8 a.m. Monday.
There is more rain expected Saturday, although the National Weather Service is calling for less than an inch. However, the rain is expected to return in full force Sunday with more than two inches possible followed by another 1 to 2 inches Monday. If the forecast is correct, it would be 12 consecutive days with measurable rainfall.
Weather concerns caused Bladen County schools to dismiss students at 1 p.m. and staff at 1:30. The East Bladen at Clinton high school football game was postponed until Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
Elsewhere, flooding in Calabash and Carolina Shores in Brunswick County forced some evacuations. West Brunswick High School in Shallotte opened for people needing shelter. Downtown streets in Whiteville were closed Friday night because of flooding, according to Columbus County Emergency Management.
The National Weather Service’s office in Wilmington reported rainfall amounts as of 11 p.m. of 4 inches in Wilmington, 2 1/2 inches in Lumberton, 3 inches in Florence, South Carolina, and almost 8 inches in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. There were reports of up to 11 inches of rain in Little River, South Carolina.
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