the flood
I had the chance to see a flash flood a couple of days ago. I had just gotten off of work and heard over the park radio about a flash flood that was making its way down Raven Fork, which just happened to flow near my apartment. So I drove back from the visitors center and down the street past my apartment to the bridge that stands over the creek. Raven Fork serves as a border between the park and the Cherokee Indian Reservation, so in addition to park police monitoring the water, there was a tribal cop standing on the bridge. We talked for a little while we waited for the flood to come through. After about half an hour, a report came over the radio stating that the high water was less than half a mile away from us. A few minutes later, I saw that the water was getting a little rougher about 200 yards upstream. That rough water soon became whitewater as the flood rushed down the fork toward us. The water, which just moments before had been clear and relatively calm, was suddenly brown and choppy. I picked out a rock in the middle of the creek and watched as it was completely covered in a matter of seconds. Logs two feet in diameter floated underneath us, along with a good amount of trash. The bank rose 2 1/2-3 feet in less than a minute. If there had been anyone swimming in the fork, they would have been swept away before they had any idea what was happening to them. Luckily, that didn't happen. It was definitely an impressive sight.