First Posted: 1/12/2015

LUMBERTON — Robeson County residents will need to keep an umbrella and raincoat handy the rest of the week.

Approximately 1.71 inches of rain has fallen across Robeson County since early this morning — and more is on the way. There is a possibility of freezing rain Tuesday night and Wednesday morning when temperatures are expected to dip into the low 30s — but as of now, there is no snow in the forecast.

Michael Ross, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, said the bulk of the rain will fall today, with light rain expected until Friday morning.

“Looking at the current forecast, the rain is expected to taper off a bit starting tomorrow,” Ross said. “It’s not going to be a lot after today.”

The large rainfall Monday prompted the National Weather Service to issue a flood warning from Tuesday afternoon to Friday morning for the Lumber River near Lumberton. The river is expected to crest at 13.2 feet by early Wednesday morning.

A rain-related traffic fatality occurred this morning when a 42-year-old Lumberton woman was killed in a single-car accident on Interstate 95.

Some minor flooding was reported in Lumberton on Monday by Rob Armstrong, the city’s director of Public Works.

“The flooding wasn’t too bad, though there were some small pockets of flooding due to clogged storm drains,” he said.

Armstrong said the only significant instance of flooding in Lumberton today occurred after a storm drain collapsed on Second Street, causing a water line to give way. Traffic was rerouted while the line was repaired.

The weekend is expected to bring some relief, when the skies are forecast to be clear and temperatures around 60 degrees.