(photo by Bill Rhodes) The National Weather Service of Greenville-Spartanburg has issued a flood watch, in effect from midnight Tuesday night through Wendesday evening for counties in Western North Carolina:

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED
A FLOOD WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST GEORGIA...WESTERN NORTH
CAROLINA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING
AREAS...IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA...RABUN. IN WESTERN NORTH
CAROLINA...ALEXANDER...AVERY...BURKE MOUNTAINS...BUNCOMBE...
CALDWELL MOUNTAINS...EASTERN MCDOWELL...EASTERN POLK...
GREATER BURKE...GREATER CALDWELL...GREATER RUTHERFORD...
HENDERSON...MCDOWELL MOUNTAINS...MACON...MITCHELL...NORTHERN
JACKSON...POLK MOUNTAINS...RUTHERFORD MOUNTAINS...SOUTHERN
JACKSON...TRANSYLVANIA AND YANCEY. IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...
GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS...OCONEE MOUNTAINS AND PICKENS MOUNTAINS.

* FROM MIDNIGHT EST TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING

* HEAVY RAINFALL WILL DEVELOP AHEAD OF A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM
MOVING NORTHEAST FROM THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY TO WEST
OF THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. SOUTHEASTERLY UPSLOPE WINDS AHEAD
OF THIS SYSTEM WILL ENHANCE PRECIPITATION ALONG THE EASTERN
SLOPES OF THE MOUNTAINS AND THE IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT FOOTHILLS.
RAINFALL TOTALS OF 2 TO 3 INCHES ARE LIKELY IN THE WATCH
AREA...WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS BETWEEN 3 AND 4 INCHES IN THE
SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS.

* THE HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CREATE SIGNIFICANT RISES ON AREA RIVERS
AND STREAMS. SOME OF THESE TRIBUTARIES COULD EXCEED BANKFULL AND
FLOOD NEARBY ROADWAYS ON WEDNESDAY. FLOODING WILL ALSO BE
POSSIBLE ALONG MAIN STEM RIVERS...ESPECIALLY THE UPPER REACHES
OF THE FRENCH BROAD RIVER WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON OR EVENING.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A FLOOD WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING BASED ON
CURRENT FORECASTS. YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE
ALERT FOR POSSIBLE FLOOD WARNINGS. THOSE LIVING IN AREAS PRONE TO
FLOODING SHOULD BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD FLOODING
DEVELOP.