North Carolina high school fields flood one year after football stadium reopens

A North Carolina high school has not been able to catch a break when it comes to extreme weather situations. Pisgah High School had its football stadium destroyed by a flood in 2021, reopening in 2023.

Now, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, just a year after reopening, the football stadium has been flooded once again.

A recent story from HighSchoolOT.com detailed the struggles the North Carolina high school has faced with flooding in recent years. Below is an excerpt from the HighSchoolOT.com.

Reached by text message on Sunday night, Pisgah athletic director Heidi Morgan told HighSchoolOT that the fields at the school are a total loss again. The flooding impacted the stadium, the softball field, and the baseball field.

The stadium at Pisgah sits about 25 yards away from the Piegon River, which experienced record-setting flooding from Helene. According to USGS data, the river peaked at 25.86 feet in Canton. The average depth this time of year is just over 1.5 feet. Flood stage is considered 10 feet.

In 2021, Tropical Storm Fred caused a flash flood along the Pigeon River. The water ripped the artificial turf from the stadium, caused electrical damage in the facility, and destroyed restroom facilities and other buildings.

Recovery from the flood took more than two years. During the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Pisgah was unable to play home games because of the damage.

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Pisgah’s stadium reopened in time for the 2023 football season, which was an event for the entire town of Canton. Gov. Roy Cooper was on hand, and a moment of silence was held for the six people who died during the 2021 flood in Canton. The flood did hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage to the town.

To read the full story from HighSchoolOT.com about the North Carolina high school’s bad weather luck, click here.