On Sunday at 12:49 a.m. the National Weather Service issued an updated flood advisory in effect until 3 a.m. The advisory is for Davidson, Forsyth, Guilford and Randolph counties.

The NWS adds, “Flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues.”

“Minor flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas. Ponding of water in urban or other areas is occurring or is imminent,” explains the NWS. “Turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads. Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the dangers of flooding.”

Deciphering advisories, watches, and warnings: Understanding weather alerts

• Flash flood warning: Take action!

A flash flood warning is issued when a flash flood is imminent or occurring. If you are in a flood-prone area, move immediately to high ground. A flash flood is a sudden violent flood that can take from minutes to hours to develop. It is even possible to experience a flash flood in areas not immediately receiving rain.

• Flood warning: Take action!

A flood warning is issued when flooding is imminent or occurring.

• Flood advisory: Be aware:

A flood advisory is issued when flooding is not expected to be bad enough to issue a warning. However, it may cause significant inconvenience, and if caution is not exercised, it could lead to situations that may threaten life and/or property.

• Flood watch: Be prepared:

A flood watch is issued when conditions are favorable for flooding. It does not mean flooding will occur, but it is possible.

NWS flood safety guidelines: Weathering the storm

In flood-prone regions or while camping in low-lying areas, understanding and following the NWS flood safety guidelines can be a lifesaver:

Move to higher ground:

If you’re in a flood-prone area, or if you’re camping in a low-lying spot, move to higher ground as a first step.

Adhere to evacuation orders:

When local authorities issue an evacuation order, promptly comply. Before leaving, secure your home by locking it.

Disconnect utilities and appliances:

If time allows, disconnect your utilities and appliances. This reduces the risk of electrical hazards during flooding.

Steer clear of flooded basements and submerged areas:

Avoid basements or rooms submerged in water with electrical outlets or cords. Preventing electrical accidents is crucial.

Evacuate promptly for safety:

If you notice sparks or hear buzzing, crackling, snapping, or popping noises, evacuate immediately. Avoid any water that may be charged with electricity.

Refrain from walking in floodwaters:

Never attempt to walk through floodwaters. Even just 6 inches of swiftly moving water can forcefully knock you off your feet.

Seek high ground if trapped:

In the event you become trapped by moving water, make your way to the highest point available and contact emergency services by calling 911.

When heavy rain occurs, there is a risk of flooding, particularly in low-lying and flood-prone regions. It is important to never attempt to drive through water on the road, regardless of how deep it appears. According to the NWS, as little as 12 inches of rushing water can sweep away most vehicles. Prioritize your safety by staying informed and prepared.

Mastering wet roads: Safety tips for heavy rainfall

When heavy rain strikes, safety is paramount. Equip yourself with these guidelines from the NWS to navigate wet roads and avoid hazards:

Beware of rapid water flow:

In heavy rain, refrain from parking or walking near culverts or drainage ditches, where swift-moving water can pose a grave danger.

Maintain safe driving distances:

Use the two-second rule to maintain a safe distance from the car in front of you and allow an extra two seconds in heavy rain.

Slow down and stay cautious:

If it is raining and the roads are wet, slow down. Take your foot off the accelerator and let your speed drop gradually. Never use the brakes suddenly because this may cause the car to skid.

Choose your lane wisely:

Stick to the middle lanes to minimize the risk of hydroplaning. Outer lanes are more prone to accumulating water.

Prioritize visibility:

Enhance your visibility in heavy rain by turning on your headlights. Watch out for vehicles in blind spots, as rain-smeared windows can obscure them.

Watch out for slippery roads:

The initial half-hour of rain is when roads are slickest due to a mixture of rain, grime, and oil. Exercise heightened caution during this period.

Keep a safe distance from large vehicles:

Large trucks and buses can reduce your visibility with tire spray. Avoid tailgating and pass them swiftly and safely.

Mind your windshield wipers:

• Overloaded wiper blades can hinder visibility. If rain severely limits your sight, pull over and wait for conditions to improve. Seek refuge at rest areas or protected spots.
• When stopping by the roadside is your only option, position your vehicle as far off the road as possible, ideally beyond guardrails. Keep your headlights on and activate emergency flashers to alert other drivers of your position.

In the face of heavy rain, these precautions can make a significant difference in ensuring your safety on the road. Remember to stay informed about weather conditions and heed guidance from local authorities for a secure journey.

Source: The National Weather Service

BOX SCORE
PHOTO GALLERY

STILLWATER — There has been an uneasy feeling around Stillwater about the two-time defending FCS champs coming to town, but the Cowboys made a statement on Saturday.

Oklahoma State bested South Dakota State 44-20 to start the 2024 season 1-0. Here are 10 thoughts from the game.

1. A Good Performance

When you think of how rough OSU’s nonconference games were to watch last season, Saturday’s result is well-welcomed. Then when you think of how good South Dakota State is supposed to be, the hype around OSU’s 2024 season should only build.

The Jackrabbits haven’t given up 44 points in a game since the 2018 FCS playoff final against North Dakota State, and the Cowboys just dominated this game from start to finish. Just putting that in a time capsule, Taylor Cornelius was OSU’s quarterback in 2018. So over the span of the entire Spencer Sanders era and then last season, that hasn’t happened against the SDSU defense.

Even when things didn’t necessarily go OSU’s way, the Cowboys would still come out winners.

OSU got stopped on the Jackrabbit 43 in the second quarter, sending Hudson Kaak out for his first punt of the year. He pinned the Jackrabbits on their 2-yard line. The Cowboys got stopped again in the fourth, again in SDSU territory, and new starting kicker Logan Ward went out and drilled a 52-yard field goal. Could be good, early returns on kickers and punters coach Sean Snyder. Whatever it was, it made even OSU’s lows high. And it made it to where the only swearing OSU fans were doing Saturday was because of the humidity, not the game.

2. Alan Bowman Was Dang Good

After leading the Cowboys to a Big 12 title game and a 10-win season last year, Alan Bowman didn’t have an overwhelming approval rating going into the year. It was just one game, but Saturday should go some ways into silencing some of his critics.

Bowman’s naysayers from 2023 will point to his interceptions (14) and his completion percentage (61%). Well, Bowman didn’t throw a pick against South Dakota State and completed 74% of his passes. And he did all that while throwing for 267 yards and three touchdowns. You could argue that line should’ve been better. Rashod Owens dropped a would-be touchdown on OSU’s first drive, and De’Zhaun Stribling dropped what might’ve been a touchdown in the third quarter.

Bowman looked unbothered. He looked like it was his seventh year playing college football. Much of the quarterback talk going into this game revolved around South Dakota State’s Mark Gronowski, the reigning Walter Payton Award (FCS Heisman) winner. Bowman outperformed him in every way.

Again, it’s just one game, but perhaps having a full preseason as the starter (and the experience in the system last season) have made a big difference for Bowman. By the looks of it, this old dog learned some new tricks.

3. Oh, and Ollie Is Still Incredibly Good

Saturday’s game might not go down as a top 10 game of Ollie Gordon’s college career, which is impressive considering he had 146 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns against a team that hasn’t lost in two years and held teams to 89.6 rushing yards a game last season.

It just felt like when OSU needed a play, Gordon made it. He was patient, yet violent, waiting on blocks to develop before cutting through most who got through.

His second-quarter touchdown run was particularly impressive. Out of the diamond formation (it’s back), Gordon coolly slid between blocks from Preston Wilson and Jake Schultz. Shultz almost tossed his man into Gordon’s path, but it was more a curse than a blessing for the defender, as Gordon just continued the would-be tackler’s flight path. Then a safety came up and found out Gordon has legs of concrete and smashed his face into them before the reigning Doak Walker winner skipped freely into the end zone.

Tell us if you’ve heard this before…Ollie in the end zone 😤 pic.twitter.com/u5SvzKKOHb

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) August 31, 2024

It wasn’t anything new in terms of watching Gordon play football, but rest assured, it doesn’t appear last season was lightning in a bottle.

4. Defense Is Different

I’m not going to pretend to have a PhD in football schematics, but OSU’s defense looks different than it did last season.

I’m not sure that Collin Oliver ever had his hand on the turf, but for all intents and purposes, he was an edge rusher as opposed to a traditional linebacker. Meanwhile, Jeff Roberson got quite a bit of run next to Nick Martin, and — as advertised — Kendal Daniels spent a lot of time close to the line of scrimmage. In fact, on South Dakota State’s first offensive snap, Daniels was lined up between a defensive end and a defensive tackle, standing up on the line of scrimmage.

It feels like this setup should best take advantage of the talent the defense has. Oliver had a big sack (and is now 10.5 away from Leslie O’Neal’s career record). Daniels nearly had a pick-six in the fourth quarter if not for a drop. Martin also dropped a sure-fire INT in the fourth but made up for it a few plays later by annihilating Gronowski as the Jackrabbits went for it on fourth down.

5. Korie Black Might Not Get Thrown at the Rest of the Season

Opposing teams don’t like throwing anywhere near Korie Black, and after Saturday, they might never again.

Black’s would-be receivers were targeted just 35 times last season, according to PFF. That’s despite being on the field for 350 coverage snaps. Well, in the first time he was thrown at in 2024, Black showed why teams are looking anywhere but near No. 2. He intercepted Gronowski in the first quarter. It was SDSU’s second possession.

And it wasn’t one of those picks that just hit the defender in the gut, either. Black undercut an out route and met the ball at full extension.

PICK @Mightyy_K2 pic.twitter.com/9y0YPACPbF

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) August 31, 2024

Black did get beat while playing as a slot corner, something he said he needs to work on, but if he can regularly shut down an outside receiver, it should bode well for this defense’s improvement as the year goes on.

6. Big Plays a Concern

As seemingly easy as this highly anticipated game was for the Cowboys, the number of big plays the defense gave up was a concern.

It’s too early to overreact too much to this. As we’ve gone over, the defense tinkered with some things this offseason, so it’s probably unfair to assume the Cowboys would hit Game 1 in full stride. But OSU ranked last in the Big 12 in plays given up of more than 20 yards last season. And that seemed to be an issue again Saturday. The Jackrabbits ripped off six plays of more than 20. For further reference, OSU — a team that scored 44 points — had just three of such plays.

On South Dakota State’s first drive of the second half, the Jackrabbits scored in three plays — all of which were more than 20 yards.

South Dakota State had 388 yards of total offense in 65 plays. That’s six yards a play. Cut out those six plays of 20+ yards, and the Jackrabbits put up 184 yards in 59 plays — 3.1 yards per play. It’s probably unrealistic to cut big plays out entirely, but cutting it down to one or two a game would feel a lot more manageable than six.

“Defensively, we played good — and then gave up big plays,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said. “… As you start to play teams that are talented, that’s gonna create an issue. That’s the first area we gotta improve on.”

7. Trey Rucker Had How Many Tackles?

There has been a lot of talk surrounding the OSU defense this offseason, but little of it has been about Trey Rucker. Many more stat lines like Saturday and the storylines will have no choice but to shift his way.

Talks about the OSU defense have been about Oliver going back on the edge, Daniels playing linebacker and Nick Martin tackling everything with a pulse. Well, Rucker had 100 tackles last season, which isn’t an easy feat. And now he is on pace (if one can be on pace after one game) for 180 tackles this season. Rucker took down 15 Jackrabbits on Saturday. For what it’s worth, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife states people are allowed to kill only three jackrabbits a day, so he’s way over.

Trey Rucker took down 15 Jackrabbits today. No one be a nark and tell the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife. pic.twitter.com/v9xL86gr0N

— Marshall Scott (@MarshallScottOK) August 31, 2024

“I knew I was balling, but I didn’t know the exact number (of tackles),” Rucker said. “That’s all God’s glory, so I’m just thankful for having those tackles.”

With Daniels moving up, Rucker is now by far the most experienced safety in OSU’s defensive backfield. He started Saturday alongside Dylan Smith — a true sophomore. Other safeties with a tackle included Cameron Epps (redshirt sophomore), Parker Robertson (former walk-on/redshirt junior) and a returning-from-injury Lyrik Rawls (redshirt junior). So with all the experience Rucker picked up at Wake Forest and starting last season, he could be huge for the Pokes in 2024 despite not entering the season with a ton of people talking about him.

8. Sesi Vailahi Has the Juice

Watching Sesi Vailahi play football is a good time.

Not to make the comparison because they are both Polynesian, but he has some Jaylen Warren in him in that he is quick enough to leave defenders grasping at air, but if someone manages to get in his way, he’s going to put his shoulder down and make sure the defender feels the upcoming hit as much as he does.

Only a redshirt freshman, Vailahi got RB2 duties Saturday over incoming transfer Trent Howland. Vailahi carried five times for four yards but also had two catches for 14 yards. One of those catches came near the OSU sideline, where Vailahi threw a nasty juke on a defender (see photo below). He basically teleported out of the defender’s path, leaving the Jackrabbit to throw his arms out in a last-ditch effort to grab Vailahi, and he grabbed just about every square inch of Vailahi’s facemask. Give him another 15 yards.

Gordon can come back next season, as he is only a junior, but he seems NFL bound given how good he is. Here’s to hoping Vailahi gets a lot of good experience this season for the nourishment of the position’s future.

9. Is De’Zhaun Stribling the Best Pro Prospect on the Team?*

*who isn’t named Ollie Gordon

De’Zhaun Stribling is back, and he looks every bit the part of a future NFL wide receiver.

At 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, Stribling has size and speed on his side, and he runs such crisp routes. He dropped what might’ve been a touchdown early in the game, but made up for it when OSU ran a flea flicker in the second half. Bowman’s pass was a little high — one of his few inaccuracies all day — but Stribling batted the ball down over his head and back into his hands before finishing off a 27-yard gain. He also had another shot at a touchdown in the second half that probably would’ve been called pass interference if the game was closer than it was.

Playing in his first game in 344 days after missing all but four games last season with injury, Stribling finished with six catches for 83 yards (team-high).

“I was pretty comfortable early,” Stribling said. “I had to go hit somebody, go pull one of those to get back in the groove and the whole mindset, but I feel like I was rolling from kickoff.”

Stribling’s injury last season wasn’t ideal from the Cowboys, but it feels as if he is entering 2024 under the radar a little bit. And he might be the best pure wide receiver on OSU’s roster (a roster that has a lot of good wide receivers).

10. Gavin Freeman WR4?

Gundy is usually fairly cautious with transfers, letting them feel their way into the season. There are some exceptions to that rule, but it felt like OU transfer Gavin Freeman was out there a lot. And not only is Freeman a transfer — he wasn’t here in the spring, meaning his first official practices on this team came during fall camp.

Outside of the dominant triforce of Stribling, Presley and Owens (who combined for 16 catches for 199 yards and two touchdowns), Freeman was the only other receiver with a catch. He had two for 10 yards, and also returned a punt and a kick.

The initial plan for Freeman was to redshirt, according to The Oklahoman. That could still be the case, given guys can play in four games these days and still redshirt, but it doesn’t feel like OSU would redshirt a guy who played as much as Freeman did in Game 1. Maybe that has something to do with Da’Wain Lofton being injured — another slot receiver the Cowboys brought in from the portal — or maybe Freeman is just too good to keep off the field. And let us not forget the plan was to redshirt Leon Johnson III last season, but he spent Saturday’s game in the crowd after exhausting his eligibility because of injuries in front of him in 2023.

If all you know about Freeman is that he transferred from OU, you have to see these high school highlights from his days at Heritage Hall.

He committed to Texas Tech out of high school, as it was his only Power Five offer coming out of high school, only to decommit and bet on himself by staying closer to home in Norman as a walk-on. Then he instantly started making plays — taking a run 46 yards to the house on his first touch of college football as a true freshman.

The kid makes plays, and though he didn’t do anything too jaw-dropping Saturday, it’s exciting to think what OSU can look like with him and Presley flying around.

COLUMBIA — South Carolina football won Saturday’s season opener against Old Dominion 23-19 at Williams-Brice Stadium, but it was far from a perfect game for the Gamecocks.

Coach Shane Beamer made it clear in his opening statement after the game that South Carolina will celebrate the win, but thought almost all three levels of play were full of mistakes.

“Unacceptable from us in the way we performed, starting with me,” Beamer said. “Winning is hard … sloppy without a doubt, on all three phases, lots to clean up … did some good, did some bad, so we have to coach better without a doubt.”

South Carolina was led by redshirt freshman LaNorris Sellers at quarterback, and had true freshman on both sides of the field. Dylan Stewart, Josiah Thompson, Mazeo Bennett, and Michael Smith all played their first college game.

“We aren’t the only the school in the country playing true freshman and we have to put them in position to make plays.” Beamer said. “I told those guys coming out of half, you ain’t a freshman anymore, you played a half of SEC football, we are past that excuse.”

What Beamer did draw attention to was the Gamecocks’ self-inflicted errors, like dropped passes and penalties. The Gamecocks were called for two penalties that eliminated scoring chances, and only completed 10 passes for 114 yards. Sellers fumbled on a drive in the first quarter, and knocked over his own player while trying to block for running back Juju McDowell.

“Let’s not beat ourselves, I thought we had too much of that tonight,” Beamer said. “It start’s with us as coaches and we will do a better job of getting that cleaned up.”

Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin