The Flood Warning continues for the French Broad River in North Carolina. . At Blantyre affecting Transylvania and Henderson Counties. .A potent storm system will impact the upper French Broad River watershed now through Sunday morning, resulting in significant rainfall accumulations and excessive runoff. An additional 2-3.5" of rainfall is expected across Transylvania County, with widespread 1.5-2.5" of rainfall expected across Henderson County through 10 AM. The heaviest rainfall will occur between 6 AM and 10 AM as a strong line of thunderstorms moves through the watershed. Heavy rain will quickly end from west to east after 10 AM as the line rapidly progresses away from the mountains. Unfortunately, this rainfall is occurring on top of saturated soils following 1.5-2.5" of rainfall which occurred Friday night. Excessive runoff from this initial round of moderate to heavy rain has already caused the French Broad River to rise several feet above baseflow levels. This will make it comparatively easier for the river to exceed bankfull levels given the additional heavy rain expected over the next 10 hours. This is why we expect the additional rainfall to cause the French Broad River to exceed Minor Flood Stage Sunday night from Brevard to Penrose, Blantyre, and Etowah, fueled in part by high flows along the Davidson and Little rivers, which are likely to exceed their respective Action/Advisory Stages by Sunday afternoon. Heavy rainfall along the Tanasee and Balsam ridgelines is also likely to cause the French Broad River near Rosman to exceed Action/Advisory Stage and possibly approach Minor Flood Stage later Sunday morning into early Sunday afternoon. Additionally, excessive runoff in the Mud Creek basin is likely to cause Mud Creek to approach Minor Flood Stage later Sunday afternoon into Sunday evening with these flows contributing to the Action Stage exceedance at Fletcher expected early Sunday afternoon. Routed flow from Blantyre and Fletcher may cause the French Broad River at Asheville to exceed Action/Advisory Stage briefly Sunday evening. However, the latest model trends suggest that the most intense rainfall rates associated with the strong line of storms will occur for a shorter period of time than originally expected as the line moves more quickly across the watershed. Therefore, storm-total rainfall amounts are a bit lower than in previous forecasts and this decreasing the likelihood that we will see crests as high as currently depicted in the official forecast hydrographs. As a result, the forecasts described in the current River Flood Warning and Advisories will describe both this reasonable worst-case scenario currently depicted and a more likely crest range based on latest model trends. As always, please monitor forecast updates closely later this morning as we gain a better handle on actual rainfall amounts. Please note that despite the existence of a River Flood Warning and Advisories, we only expect nuisance to Minor flooding along the French Broad River and associated tributaries. While any flooding is unwelcome, the flooding that we expect is quite common for this time of year and will NOT compare in any way whatsoever to the flooding experienced during Tropical Cyclone Helene. With nuisance to Minor flooding expect flooding of low-lying areas adjacent to streams and other poor-drainage areas, including farmland, parks, greenways, boat-access areas, golf courses, underpasses, and parking lots. Isolated, shallow flows over roadways is possible. A few flood-prone, low-water crossings may become impassible. The flooding may be a few feet deep in these areas if Minor Flood Stage is exceeded. * WHAT. Minor flooding is forecast. * WHERE. French Broad River at Blantyre. * WHEN. From Sunday morning to Wednesday morning. * IMPACTS. Impacts . At 16.0 feet, Minor Flood Stage. Farmland flooding continues on both sides of the French Broad River. Floodwaters begin to impact boat access areas at Grove Bridge Rd. and Crab Creek Rd. . At 17.0 feet, Minor Flooding continues. Floodwaters continue to inundate farmland between the French Broad River and the old railroad bed. Floodwaters may start to inundate the shoulders of River Road near the Big Willow Road intersection. Floodwaters continue to impact boat access areas at Grove Bridge Rd. and Crab Creek Rd. . At 18.0 feet, Minor Flooding continues. Widespread farmland flooding between the French Broad River and the old railroad bed is ongoing. The river may be overtopping the old railroad bed near Fodderstack Mountain Rd. and River Ridge Rd. The intersection of River Rd. and Big Willow Rd. is inundated with several inches of water. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS. - At 10:30 PM EST Saturday the stage was 11.1 feet and falling steadily. - The river crested at 11.31 feet on December 28th at 6:15pm in response to rainfall which occurred late Friday into Saturday morning. - Forecast. The river is expected to rise above Minor Flood Stage Sunday evening with a reasonable worst-case crest near 18.0 feet by Monday afternoon. However, the latest guidance suggests slightly lower rainfall totals due to a faster cold front progression. Therefore, a crest between 16.5 and 17.5 feet is more likely. A lower crest will occur earlier than the crest depicted on the official hydrograph, possibly as early as Monday morning with a fall below Minor Flood Stage also occurring earlier, likely by Tuesday afternoon. Nevertheless, please closely monitor the latest forecasts and this River Flood Warning for the latest crest information as it becomes available. - Minor Flood Stage is 16.0 feet. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood