• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

2

'Skills nobody can take': Meet a 20-year-old with a 4.5 GPA who skipped college for technical school to land an 'AI-proof' career

3

China suffers another setback in effort to de-dollarize global finance as anchor in the greenback's dominance quietly exits Beijing's payment scheme

1

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

2

'Skills nobody can take': Meet a 20-year-old with a 4.5 GPA who skipped college for technical school to land an 'AI-proof' career

3

China suffers another setback in effort to de-dollarize global finance as anchor in the greenback's dominance quietly exits Beijing's payment scheme

Hurricane Florence Could Drop 10 Trillion Gallons of Rain on North Carolina

By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 13, 2018, 11:13 AM ET
Google source logo
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

The biggest threat from Hurricane Florence isn’t the Category 2 hurricane force winds. It’s the rain.

The storm could dump as much as 10 trillion gallons of rain on North Carolina alone, according to meteorologist Ryan Maue of weathermodels.com. That’s higher than the maximum capacity of Lake Mead, the reservoir that serves water to Arizona, California, and Nevada. (To visualize that, the lake is currently only filled to 38% of its capacity.)

Maue’s prediction is based off of the seven-day rainfall summary from the National Weather Service, factoring in the average and maximum rainfall estimates.

He further notes that the initial estimates from Harvey were much lower than the actual totals. (Harvey ultimately dropped 33 trillion gallons of rain on Southeast Texas and Louisiana.)

South Carolina and Virginia are not going to escape a deluge, either. The storm is expected to stall once it hits land, then slowly move through South Carolina and up into Virginia, losing windspeed, but still soaking the states. (Forecasters say parts of South Carolina could receive up to 20 inches of rain.)

https://twitter.com/RyanMaue/status/1039889812344512517

Need to visualize 10 trillion gallons a little differently? That same amount of water could also:

  • Let everyone on earth take 69 10-minute showers
  • Fill 15 million Olympic-sized pools
  • Wash 667 billion loads of laundry
About the Author
By Chris MorrisFormer Contributing Writer

Chris Morris is a former contributing writer at Fortune, covering everything from general business news to the video game and theme park industries.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in


Most Popular

Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

    Latest in


    Most Popular

    © 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
    FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.