Chantal triggers life-threatening flash floods as storm pushes inland in North Carolina and Virginia
Now a Tropical Depression, Chantal became the first named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season to hit the United States after it made landfall in South Carolina in the earliest hours of Sunday morning.
'At 811 PM EDT, emergency management reported flooding due to thunderstorms producing heavy rain in numerous locations across the warned area, including Pittsboro, Chapel Hill, and Mebane,' the National Weather Service said in an alert Sunday night.
'Between 2 and 6 inches of rain have fallen. Additional rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches are possible in the warned area,' the weather service said. 'Flash flooding is already occurring.'
Chantal came ashore around 4 a.m. ET Sunday near Litchfield by the Sea, South Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center, about 10 to 20 miles south of Myrtle Beach. The tropical storm was packing sustained winds between 50 and 60 mph at landfall, with stronger gusts.
Chantal is the third named storm of the Atlantic season — a mark usually hit around early August. While Chantal is the first of the season to impact the United States, it isn't a major threat to land, but will continue to drench parts of the Southeast and create risky beach conditions through Monday.
The system deteriorated into a tropical depression late Sunday morning as it tracked deeper inland and farther north. Chantal could fully dissipate as early as Sunday evening, but some impacts will linger after that occurs.
Despite Chantal's loss of tropical storm status, the system will still bring periods of heavy rain to the Carolinas and other parts of the mid-Atlantic. A level 2-of-4 risk of flooding rainfall is in place for portions of the Carolinas Sunday, according to the Weather Prediction Center. This rain will spread farther north early in the week.
Chantal has dropped at least an inch of rain on parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina since it first formed and ultimately, 2 to 4 inches of rain is possible in the Carolinas, with isolated amounts of up to 6 inches through Monday.
Rough surf and rip currents will continue to plague much of the Carolina coastline and areas farther north through at least Monday.
Outside of the Southeast, most of the country is having ideal conditions for July Fourth weekend, particularly in the Northeast and West, where calm, mostly clear skies are expected. The Southeast is likely to dry out by Tuesday.
Texas and the Upper Midwest could continue to see strong to severe thunderstorms with damaging winds and hail through the weekend. Torrential rainfall triggered deadly flooding in Texas early Friday morning as rivers rushed beyond their banks and flooded nearby campgrounds and homes.
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CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Texas flooding timeline: What happened in the hours before, during and after
Storms Federal agenciesFacebookTweetLink Follow For many families, the most serious warnings about the deadly and raging torrent in Texas Hill Country last week came too late. Many were asleep. Others, in a region long accustomed to extreme weather, were kept up by heavy bursts of rain and earsplitting cracks of thunder that shook buildings. 'I thought it was just lightning and thunderstorm,' recalled Caroline Cutrona, a counselor at Camp Mystic, where young girls bonded in rustic cabins with names like the Bubble Inn and the Giggle Box. 'I had no idea of the severity.' She was not alone. Still, state emergency management officials had activated emergency response resources as early as Wednesday evening, warning of potential flooding heading into the July Fourth holiday weekend. The alerts – including critical warnings the National Weather Service said gave preliminary lead times of more than three hours before flash flooding conditions occurred – would grow more dire. Torrential rains transformed the pristine Guadalupe River, unleashing roaring cascades in the predawn hours of Independence Day along 40 miles of Kerr County, claiming at least 103 lives there alone, including 36 children. The confirmed death toll in Texas was 129 as of Friday evening. At least 150 people are still missing statewide – at least 140 of them in Kerr County. More than a summer's worth of rain had fallen in the area overnight into the holiday, swelling part of the river from about 3 feet to 30 feet in just 45 minutes and turning the beloved waterway into a killer. The catastrophic deluge laid waste to communities across Kerr and Kendall counties, where neighborhoods and RV parks, as well as the 18 or so youth camps attended by thousands of kids each summer, were swept away in its fury. 'The first thing I thought, 'This is not real. Wake up, Caroline. Wake up,'' Cutrona told CNN's Anderson Cooper. ''I'm in a dream,' and that's what I wanted it to be.' Here's what we know about how a nightmare scenario unfolded in Texas: 6:29 p.m. CT The Texas Division of Emergency Management announces activation of state emergency response resources in anticipation of 'increased threats of flooding in parts of West and Central Texas heading into the holiday weekend.' It urges residents to 'follow instructions from local officials, make an emergency plan, and prepare an emergency supply kit.' 6:36 a.m. CT The National Weather Service issues short-term guidance, valid until Thursday afternoon, indicating morning thunderstorms and a humid, moist environment capable of producing flooding rainfall. The guidance flags the NWS office for Austin and San Antonio to note the flood risk. 7 a.m. CT The NWS releases a flood outlook noting flash or river flooding is possible in parts of Central Texas over the coming days. It describes a very tropical atmosphere with the potential for producing flooding rainfall in central and southern Texas. 10 a.m. CT County judges and city mayors are invited to join a daily call to discuss weather forecasts. A regional coordinator reached out personally to officials in the area, making sure they 'were aware there could be flooding,' Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick later said. 'The message was sent,' Patrick said. 'It is up to the local counties and mayors under the law to evacuate if they feel the need.' 'I will tell you personally, I did not receive a call,' Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr. told reporters this week, adding he could not speak for the Kerr County judge. 1:18 p.m. CT The NWS issues a flood watch, highlighting Kerrville, among other locations, as being at risk of flash flooding through the night into Friday. It forecast 5 to 7 inches of rainfall. 6:30 p.m. CT The NWS issues an updated forecast for the Guadalupe River: 'Rapid runoff is expected, with locally considerable flash and urban flash flooding possible … the nocturnal timing will also enhance the hazard potential and impacts.' It notes the potential for a historic rainfall event, though it's unclear if that messaging reached emergency managers. The weather service's forecast offices for Austin, San Antonio and San Angelo, as well as the West Gulf River Forecast Center in Fort Worth, assign extra personnel to work Thursday night into the next day, according to NWS spokesperson Erica Grow Cei. Kerrville Mayor Herring later said he went outside Thursday night before the storm and looked at the sky. 'Partly cloudy. The sky was not angry and I thought to myself, 'someone's going to get rain, but it's probably not going to be us.' And I was wrong,' he said. 'I was awakened in the middle of the night by thunder. I looked outside, we had a light rain. In fact, the city of Kerrville really didn't have a lot of rain until later in the day.' Midnight CT Glenn Juenke, a Camp Mystic staffer, told CNN he was monitoring the rain gauges on the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority's website. 'Many of the rain gauges were out of order or offline and were useless. They provided no information about the level of rainfall upstream of Camp Mystic where I was acting in the capacity of night watchman.' 1:14 a.m. CT The NWS issues a flash flood warning, upgraded from the earlier watch, for parts of Kerr County. 2:30 a.m. CT Lorena Guillen, who owns an RV park and restaurant in Kerrville, told CNN she closed her restaurant around 12:45 a.m. CT after July Fourth celebrations. When rain started to pour heavier over the next two hours, she drove to the edge of the river and observed its height. The water level appeared normal, she said. She called the Kerr County Sheriff's Office to ask whether the Guadalupe would rise with the rain and put her RV tenants in danger. She said she was assured they would be safe. About an hour after the call, Guillen said, she saw lights from a rescue team. One of the park's long-term residents had heard screaming and called 911. 3 a.m. CT At Camp Mystic's Bug House cabin, owner Dick Eastland and his son, Edward, a camp director, helped a group of girls – clutching pillows and blankets – evacuate in ankle-deep water to a nearby recreation hall, a 12-year-old camper told CNN. With the water rapidly rising, the campers spent the night on the second floor, illuminated by flashlights. 'Everyone was scared because there was water coming in,' said the girl, whose mother asked she not be identified to protect her privacy. The girls sang, prayed and slept until about 6 a.m. when the rain stopped. When counselors did a roll call later, the girls realized some campers were missing. At Chatterbox cabin at the same camp, girls screamed as floodwaters swept inside, according to 9-year-old twin sisters who were there. Their mother also asked they not be identified. One twin let campers keep their 'lovies' and 'stuffies' on her top bunk for safety. The twins said they watched a car they believed would rescue them wash away in a surge of water. With counselors, the campers climbed out a window and waded through chest-high waters to higher ground. They later learned three Chatterbox campers were among the missing. 'We didn't know if they got … washed away in the rapids,' one girl said. 'Whenever we were cold, they kept giving us hugs and we were crying, they would always comfort us,' one twin said of the counselors. A rainbow appeared later that morning – which the girls said was 'a sign from God.' 3:27 a.m. CT A local firefighter calls dispatch to report high water on the main highway getting to Hunt, Texas, from the east. 'Yes ma'am … Guadalupe is starting to come up and Schumacher is no longer passable at this time,' the firefighter says, referring to the scenic Schumacher Crossing over the river. 3:30 a.m. CT Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said first responders started to get swept away by floodwaters. 'That's how quick it happened,' Rice said. 'First responders who have experience, who are swift-water qualified.' 3:50 a.m. CT A dispatcher tells first responders about people in distress along State Highway 39, which crosses the Guadalupe and runs through Texas Hill Country: 'We're getting multiple calls off of 39. People are stating their houses are flooding. We're trying to advise them to get to higher area.' About 4 a.m. CT Camp Mystic counselor Caroline Cutrona said the roar of thunder and lighting kept her awake. She noticed the camp had lost power. The cabin, where she watched over 14 girls ages 9 and 10, shook violently. Around the same time, video obtained by CNN shows a cabin at the boys Camp La Junta floating away in the floodwaters. 4:03 a.m. CT The NWS issues a flash flood emergency warning for Kerr County, stating, 'Move to higher ground now! This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation.' 4:22 a.m. CT A firefighter calls dispatch, asking for a CodeRED emergency alert to be issued: 'Is there any way we can send a CodeRED out to our Hunt residents, asking them to find higher ground or stay home?' The dispatcher responds: 'Stand by, we have to get that approved with our supervisor.' 4:45 a.m. CT A gauge along the Guadalupe River, in Kerrville, shows water levels hit 23.4 feet. Water levels in that spot almost certainly crested above 23.4 feet, but the gauge didn't record data for three hours – between 4:45 a.m. and 7:45 a.m. local time –before picking back up its measurement. 5 a.m. CT The raging river bursts from its banks around this time, sweeping homes, cars, campers and cabins downstream. It took about 90 minutes for the 20-foot flood wave to move down the Guadalupe River overnight, triggering the river's second-highest crest on record. 5:03 a.m. CT Kerr Fire dispatch announces: 'The river is completely swollen … there is a car with occupants in it floating down the river.' Rice, the Kerrville city manager, started getting phone calls around 5 a.m. local time. 'By the time we got back out there, the river had already risen 20 or 25 feet. It rose significantly in that amount of time. We almost got stuck when we went back,' he told CNN. 'Nobody could have ever predicted this.' 5:30 a.m. CT Notifications sent by Kendall County indicate the first wireless emergency message for a flood warning was sent to residents at this time. Three more alerts were issued on the wireless warning system between 7 a.m. and 8:06 a.m. CT. Herring, Kerrville's mayor, told reporters: 'I individually did not receive a warning in time. When I woke up, I got a call from the city manager' around 5:30 a.m. local time. He said he went downtown and Louise Hays Park, which is perched on the river, 'was already inundated. That was the first time I knew.' 5:32 a.m. CT A unit identified as 'Utility 51' asks a dispatcher at Kerr County Fire Operations: 'Can you advise who's running command?' Central dispatch responds: 'Sir, we don't have an incident command right now.' 5:34 a.m. CT The NWS issues a more dire flash flood emergency warning of an imminent threat, specifically for Kerrville. 5:57 a.m. CT The US Coast Guard receives an initial call, although their specific launch time is unavailable. What was supposed to be an hourlong flight took between seven and eight hours due to weather conditions, according to the air crew. Around 6 a.m. CT Mayor Herring Jr. told the Texas Tribune he received an alert on his phone from the CodeRED system. 6:02 a.m. CT Video obtained by CNN showed law enforcement officers in Kerr County shouting evacuation orders. 6:31 a.m. CT Kerr County posted on social media: 'Flooding along the Guadalupe River is happening now. Be safe and move to higher ground. Do not drive through water. Turn Around - Don't Drown!' 8:30 a.m. CT The Kerr County Sheriff's Office confirms people have died during the 'catastrophic flooding event' in a post on social media. 'Those near creeks, streams, and the Guadalupe River should immediately move to higher ground,' the post said. 10:04 a.m. CT A source told CNN affiliate KSAT neither the Kerr County Sheriff's Office nor the Kerrville Police Department sent a CodeRED Alert to some residents until this time. 11:59 a.m. CT Kerr County officials declare a disaster due to 'extreme, life-threatening' flooding. When everyone remaining at Camp Mystic had finished lunch, Cutrona said one of the camp's directors pulled counselors aside and informed them 27 girls and the camp's owner, Dick Eastland, were missing. 'Camp Mystic's the safest place I've ever known, and I just couldn't believe it,' Cutrona said. 6:30 p.m. CT The US Coast Guard's MH-65 air crew arrives in the area and begins to rescue survivors. It is uncertain what time the air crew completed rescue efforts. 'The last live rescue, unless there's new information, and I don't believe there is, was made on Friday,' Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said. As searchers agonizingly scour the area for unaccounted flood victims, local officials have been adamant they could not have done more to prevent the tragedy. CNN's Pamela Brown, Andrew Freedman, Emma Tucker, Mary Gilbert, Holly Yan, Alisha Ebrahimji, Alaa Elassar and Dalia Faheid contributed to this report.
Time Magazine
2 hours ago
- Time Magazine
I'm a Climate Scientist in Texas. Here's What the Floods Tell Us
Late into the night of Friday, July 3, the remnants of tropical storm Barry combined with an unusually humid air mass. Together, they dropped more than four months' worth of rain—at least 1.8 trillion gallons, roughly enough to cover the entire state of Texas in four inches of water—in just four hours. Much of this rain fell over a picturesque stretch of the Texas Hill Country dotted by summer camps, vacation homes, and cypress trees, where it quickly drained into the Guadalupe River. The timing—overnight, on a holiday weekend—the intensity of the rainfall in the river watershed, and the vulnerable location combined into a worst-case scenario. By the early hours of the morning, river banks were overrun and a flash flood began to surge downstream. By 4.30am, the stream gauge at Hunt, TX had risen 20 feet in just 90 minutes, putting hundreds of people downstream in immediate harms' way. As a climate scientist who calls Texas home, I can tell you that the Hill Country of Texas is no stranger to flooding. Meteorologists often refer to it as 'Flash Flood Alley' because of its steep terrain, shallow soils, and its history of sudden and intense rainfall. So that night, despite recent federal cuts that doubled the number of their vacant positions, the local National Weather Service (NWS) office was fully staffed. They issued timely warnings that escalated quickly as the risk of flash flooding intensified. Some received and heeded them. At Mo Ranch, a camp my son once attended, leaders who'd been keeping an eye on the river and the weather alerts moved campers and staff from riverside buildings to higher ground in the middle of the night. But tragically, many more did not. The resulting death toll from the nightmare flood that swept through that morning is already well over 100 people. It includes local residents, vacationers, and saddest of all, many young campers and counselors from Camp Mystic, a beloved 99-year-old all-girls camp on the banks of the south fork of the Guadalupe River as well as the directors of both Camp Mystic and the nearby Heart O' the Hills Camp. Over 170 more remain missing in Kerr County, and the exhausting work of recovery is just beginning. Texas is no stranger to floods and other weather extremes. In fact, Texas is tied with Arkansas for the second most billion-plus dollar flood events of any state other than Louisiana. But as the world warms, that warmer air holds more moisture; so when a storm passes through, it's capable of dumping much more rain than it would have, fifty or a hundred years ago. As a result, what used to be considered a 500-year flood has already happened multiple times in recent memory. The city of Houston experienced three such events from 2015 to 2017 alone. And so-called 100-year floods are becoming commonplace. This trend underscores an important truth. Climate change isn't creating new risks: rather, it's amplifying existing ones. Texas already experiences more extreme weather events with damages exceeding a billion dollars—floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, wildfires and more—than any other state. And it's already seeing longer, more dangerous heatwaves, stronger hurricanes, bigger wildfires, and yes—heavier downpours, too. In the 1980s and 1990s, Texas averaged less than two of such damaging extreme events per year. Since then, the numbers have escalated quickly, with 16 extreme billion-dollar events in Texas in 2023–and 20 in 2024. Unfortunately, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stopped updating these figures under the Trump Administration, citing 'evolving priorities, statutory mandates, and staffing changes.' With the risks changing so quickly, it's no longer enough to look to the past as a guide to the future. We need to prepare for what's coming, not just what's happened before. That means that we need more data, more expertise, more preparation, more communication, and more follow through, to keep people safe. Radars, stream gauges, weather models and emergency notification systems—we need them all, more than ever. How can this be accomplished? Agencies like the NWS, NOAA and FEMA must be funded and staffed to expand the public services we rely on, paid for by our tax dollars. Preparedness must be prioritized as cities, towns, and counties allocate their resources. The more climate change supercharges our extremes, the more we need reliable, timely, and actionable ways to keep people out of harm's way. This may seem obvious– yet today, the opposite is happening. Eight of the 122 NWS offices around the country can no longer operate around the clock after the firings of probationary employees and early retirements. Moving into hurricane season, NOAA announced the Defense Department would no longer share data from key weather satellites that track hurricane paths. Most recently, the Trump Administration shut down the U.S. government website hosting the National Climate Assessments I've contributed to since the Bush Administration. These assessments are the most comprehensive and authoritative source of forward-looking information we have in the U.S. on how climate change is already altering the risks of extreme weather across Texas and the broader United States. Advertisement Keeping people safe on a warming planet also means preparing our infrastructure and building resilience in advance. It's common sense to invest in flood protection and early warning systems such as could have made a difference in this disaster. And these options are on the table: in Texas, voters will decide in November whether to dedicate an additional $1 billion annually to the state's Water Fund, money that could be used to support flood resilience. Despite the misinformation and anti-science rhetoric that often overwhelms social media after disasters like this, a majority of people— 63 percent in Texas and across the U.S.—are already concerned about climate change. A flood doesn't stop to ask about your politics before it sweeps away your home. Regardless of where we live or how we vote, extreme weather puts us all at risk: and we know, without a shadow of a doubt, that it's getting worse due to climate change. Advertisement The good news is this: solutions are at hand. Shifting from fossil fuels to clean energy is one of the best ways to cut emissions of heat-trapping gases that are building up in the atmosphere, essentially wrapping an extra blanket around the planet and causing it to warm. What many may not realize is that Texas leads the U.S. in clean energy innovation, from wind and solar to breakthroughs in energy storage and geothermal. And at The Nature Conservancy, where I serve as chief scientist, we're working with cities and states to advance nature-based solutions that absorb floodwaters and protect communities from extreme heat. This includes advocating for expanded support for flood mitigation efforts in Texas from the new Water Fund. As individuals, we can't implement an emergency warning system or overhaul a community's energy sources on our own—but we can use our voices to advocate for them. Too often, even after a disaster, we don't have the deeper conversations about what rising climate risks mean for our future. As a result, most people aren't prepared for the impacts when they hit home—whether it's skyrocketing home insurance costs, or a disastrous flood that arrives overnight. And because policymakers rarely hear from those who care, they often underestimate how much public support there really is for action. Yet these are not altruistic investments. Every dollar invested in climate resilience across the U.S. and globally yields an estimated tenfold return—even when no disaster occurs. Advertisement As individuals, our voice is the most powerful force we have to drive change. And for me, as a parent whose own child once went to camp along the Guadalupe River, the choice is clear: doing nothing—and saying nothing—isn't an option if we want a better future for our children.
CNBC
4 hours ago
- CNBC
Trump visits Texas flood zone, defends government's disaster response
President Donald Trump defended the state and federal response to deadly flash flooding in Texas on Friday as he visited the stricken Hill Country region, where at least 120 people, including dozens of children, perished a week ago. During a roundtable discussion after touring Kerr County, the epicenter of the disaster, Trump praised both Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for their response, saying they both did an "incredible job." The Trump administration, as well as local and state officials, has faced mounting questions over whether more could have been done to protect and warn residents ahead of the flooding, which struck with astonishing speed in the pre-dawn hours on July 4, the U.S. Independence Day holiday. Trump reacted with anger when a reporter said some families affected by the floods had expressed frustration that warnings did not go out sooner. "I think everyone did an incredible job under the circumstances," he said. "I don't know who you are, but only a very evil person would ask a question like that." Some critics have questioned whether the administration's spending cuts at the National Weather Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which coordinates the U.S. government's disaster response efforts, might have exacerbated the calamity. Trump officials have said that cuts had no impact on the NWS's ability to forecast the storms, despite some vacancies in local offices. But the president has largely sidestepped questions about his plans to shrink or abolish FEMA and reassign many of its key functions to state and local governments. "I'll tell you some other time," Trump said on Tuesday, when asked by a reporter about FEMA. Before the most recent flooding, Kerr County declined to install an early-warning system after failing to secure state money to cover the cost. Lawrence Walker, 67, and a nearly three-decade veteran resident of Kerrville, said the county and state had not spent enough on disaster prevention, including an early-warning system. Asked about the quality of the government response, he said, "It's been fine since the water was at 8 feet." The Texas state legislature will convene in a special session later this month to investigate the flooding and provide disaster relief funding. Abbott has dismissed questions about whether anyone was to blame, calling that the "word choice of losers." Search teams on Friday were still combing through muddy debris littering parts of the Hill Country in central Texas, looking for the dozens still listed as missing, but no survivors have been found since the day of the floods. Heavy rains sent a wall of water raging down the Guadalupe River early on July 4, causing the deadliest disaster of the Republican president's nearly six-month term in office. As sun poked through dark clouds on Friday morning, search crews in hard hats painstakingly walked inch-by-inch along the ruined banks of the river, marking damage and looking through wreckage. After the president arrived in Kerr County in the early afternoon, Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Texas Governor Greg Abbott drove to an area near the river, where Trump received a briefing from first responders amid debris left in the wake of the flood. The county is located in what is known as "flash flood alley," a region that has seen some of the country's deadliest floods. More than a foot of rain fell in less than an hour on July 4. Flood gauges showed the river's height rose from about a foot to 34 feet (10.4 meters) in a matter of hours, cascading over its banks and sweeping away trees and structures in its path. Kerr County officials say more than 160 people remain unaccounted for, although experts say that the number of people reported missing in the wake of disasters is often inflated. The dead in the county include 67 adults and at least 36 children, many of whom were campers at the nearly century-old Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer retreat on the banks of the river. Jon Moreno, 71, a longtime Kerrville resident whose property on high ground was spared, praised the government response - local and federal. He has heard the debate about what more could have been done - including sirens - but said he did not think it would have made much difference, given people's desire to build along the flood-prone riverbanks. "It's unavoidable," he said. "All those people along the river - I wouldn't want to live there ... It's too dangerous." At Stripes, a gas station in Kerrville, the building was tagged in large white letters, accusing "Trump's Big Beautiful Bill" of cutting "our emergency funding." The president's massive legislative package, which cut taxes and spending, won approval from the Republican-controlled Congress last week and was signed into law by Trump on the same day that the flooding hit Texas.
