Blue skies and cool breezes fell over the North Carolina coastline a day after historic rainfall pounded Carolina Beach.

The National Weather Service in Wilmington reported Carolina Beach was hit with nearly 21 inches of rain in a 12-hour-period on Monday as families were left stranded indoors and it forced rescues across the town.

What You Need To Know

  • The National Weather Service in Wilmington reported Carolina Beach was hit with nearly 21 inches of rain in a 12-hour-period on Monday

  • Justin Roach woke up to water flooding his front yard, including three of his cars

  • Roach described the storm as "by far the worst" in his memory

Justin Roach counts himself among those whose property was under water on Monday.

“That was by far the worst,” Roach said. Three of Roach’s cars were submerged in deep water.

“Yea, it got up to right here I would say,” Roach said as he raised his hand halfway up the front driver's tire.

Roach said he’s lived with his girlfriend and two dogs in Carolina Beach for five years. The Raleigh native said he hasn't seen a storm bring so much rain to the town since he moved to the coast. 

“Nothing close to what we experienced,” Roach said.

Nearly 21 inches of record rainfall hung on his fencepost as their car mats continued to dry Tuesday afternoon.

Related article: Southeastern North Carolina saw historic rainfall Monday

A cleanup crew was busy next door at Havana’s Restaurant. A team was hired to pressure wash the patio in time to seat customers when the kitchen opened at 3 p.m.

Not even a block away, standing water still covered part of a well-traveled road. Carolina Beach police officers picked up orange traffic cones to reopen a busy intersection at Lake Park Boulevard and Cape Fear Boulevard.

Sunshine and nicer weather on Tuesday couldn’t erase the scary memory of water creeping up to Roach’s front porch Monday morning.

“Thinking like, all right, well, this is already in a situation where it's too late to leave, you know, too late to, to try and get in the car and go anywhere,” Roach said.

He said there was nothing they could do.

“The crazy thing is, we're just, helpless at that point. Yeah. It was is one of the most helpless feelings I've ever had knowing we were in the situation. We were OK and the dogs were OK, but it could change so quickly that we couldn’t be,” Roach said. 

It's a feeling he hopes to never experience again. Roach said they haven't received total estimates for any possible damages to vehicles from insurance agents. He expects to find out whether there are any costly impacts to the vehicles this week.

Related article: 'Historic rainfall': See photos from Monday's storm and the top rain totals