Looking down the Davidson River. Late last Summer it was a torrent from Tropical Storm Frances. Some of the trees to the right are a sign of that. This is one of the first tributaries to The French Broad River. Frances gave the Mountains a "Hundred Year Flood", our last was Tropical Storm Burrell ten years before. Burrell produced more rain in my memory(14 inces in Rosman NC), but, Frances gave slightly higher flood levels. Perhaps due to ground saturation, but, the Flood Plain of The French Broad has been tampered with more since then. Still, Frances destroyed more trees along the Davidson than Burrell did. Appalachia is a world of Micro Climates(Both Biologicaly and Socialy), one side of the Mountain may get more rain than the other.