Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 1987
Flash Flood Warning 16, NWS Blacksburg, VA
NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this flash flood warning at Apr 24, 1987, 5:48 PM EDT for Craig County, Roanoke County, Virginia. It was in force for 3 hr.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 24, 1987, 5:48 PM EDT (21:48 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 24, 1987, 9:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Blacksburg, VA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Craig County, VA, Roanoke County, VA
The radar
The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.
The nearest sounding before it
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 142 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 11 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -52 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 567 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 41 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 115 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 128 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KROA 242149 FFWROA VAC045-161-770-775-250100- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ROANOKE VA 548 PM EDT FRI APR 24 1987 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 900 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF VIRGINIA...CRAIG...ROANOKE...CITY OF ROANOKE AND CITY OF SALEM HEAVY RAINS OVER SOUTHERN CRAIG AND NORTHERN ROANOKE COUNTY THE PAST TWO HOURS ARE BEGINNING TO MAKE THEIR WAY DOWN THE HILLSIDES RAPIDLY. MASONS CREEK IS REPORTED TO BE RISING RAPIDLY. OTHER CREEKS WILL LIKELY BE SPILLING OVER BANKS ALSO. BROOKSIDE IS EXPERIENCING HIGH WATER. FLOODING HAS BEEN REPORTED OR IS IMMINENT. TAKE IMMEDIATE PRECAUTIONS AGAINST RAPIDLY RISING WATERS AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO SAFETY. MOTORISTS SHOULD NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS ROADWAYS COVERED BY WATER AND SHOULD BE CAUTIOUS OF UNDERPASSES. PERSONS NEAR STREAMS THAT OFTEN FLOOD OR NEAR STREAMS IN MOUNTAINOUS AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE ALERT FOR FAST RISING WATER. FUTURE STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS WILL BE ISSUED WHEN THERE ARE IMPORTANT CHANGES IN THE FLOODING CONDITIONS.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Apr 24, 1:21 PM EDT, 4 hours 27 minutes before
^WBCSPSROA
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ROANOKE VA
115PM EDT FRI APR 24 1987
...ROANOKE RIVER APPROACHING TEMPORARY CREST...
AT 1 PM THE ROANOKE RIVER AT THE WALNUT STREET BRIDGE WAS JUST
BELOW 8 FT. IT IS STILL RISING..BUT SLOWLY.. AND APPEARS TO BE
HEADING FOR A MIDAFTERNOON CREST OF ABOUT 9 FT..STILL BELOW FLOOD
STAGE WHICH IS 10 FT.
MORE RAIN IS FALLING AND WILL LIKELY CONTINUE OFF AND ON INTO TONIGHT.
IN FACT..A HEAVY SHOWER WAS OBSERVED ALONG THE NORTH FORK OF THE
RIVER THE PAST HOUR. THE RIVER SHOULD REMAIN MORE OR LESS STEADY THE
REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON..BUT WITH MORE RAIN COMING IT WILL LIKELY
RESUME A RISE TO A FOOT OR TWO PAST FLOOD STAGE BY TOMORROW MORNING.
MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR MEDIA SOURCES FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS OR
A WARNING IF IT BECOMES NECESSARY.$$
MCINTOSH
7Special weather statement, Apr 24, 4:27 PM EDT, 1 hour 21 minutes before
^WBCSPSROA SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ROANOKE VA 425 PM EDT FRI APR 24 1987 ...SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE LEVEL TO RISE... ACCORDING TO AN APCO SPOKESMAN...AND BASED ON CURRENT RAINFALL PROJECTIONS...APCO ESTIMATES THE LEVEL OF THE SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE AT THE DAM WILL BE 3 TO 4 FT ABOVE THE FULL POOL ELEVATION OF 795 FT BETWEEN SATURDAY EVENING AND SUNDAY MORNING. HOMEOWNERS AND BOATOWNERS THERE THAT NEED TO ATTEND TO ITOEMS ARE URGED TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTIONS TO PROTECT PROPERTY. HM/TE
Special weather statement, Apr 24, 5:03 PM EDT, 45 minutes before
^WBCSPSROA SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ROANOKE VA 500 PM EDT FRI APR 24 1987 ...ROANOKE RIVER HOLDING STEADY... AT 5 PM THE ROANOKE RIVER AT THE WALNUT STREET BRIDGE WAS AT 7.8 FT AND VIRTUALLY HOLDING STEADY..PREVENTED FROM FALLING BY THIS AFTERNOONS RAINS. THE RIVER IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN A SLOW RISE AGAIN THIS EVENING AND BASED ON ANTICIPATED RAINS REACH A CREST OF AROUND 12 FT EARLY TOMORROW MORNING. A MORE CONTINUOUS PATTERN OF HEAVY RAIN COULD CHANGE THIS PROJECTION. AT THIS TIME IT APPEARS THAT THE BRUNT OF THE HEAVY RAIN SHOULD END BY MIDNIGHT WITH MAINLY JUST LIGHT RAIN OR DRIZZLE LINGERING THROUGH PART OF SATURDAY. A CONTINUED STATE OF ALERT IS URGED BY THOSE CONCERNED. FURTHER UPDATES WILL BE ISSUED AS DATA BECOMES AVAILABLE.$$HM
Special weather statement, Apr 24, 5:26 PM EDT, 22 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LYNCHBURG VA 520 PM EDT FRI APR 24 1987 ...SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE LEVEL TO RISE... ACCORDING TO AN APCO SPOKESMAN...AND BASED ON CURRENT RAINFALL PROJECTIONS...APCO ESTIMATES THE LEVEL OF THE SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE AT LEESVILLE DAM TO RISE 3 TO 4 FEET ABOVE THE FULL POOL ELEVATION OF 795 FT BETWEEN SATURDAY EVENING AND SUNDAY MORNING. RELEASE OF WATER THROUGH THE SPILLWAY WILL CAUSE THE ROANOKE RIVER AT ALTAVISTA TO RISE TO 20 FT...2 FT ABOVE THE FLOOD STAGE OF 18 FT. THIS WILL OCCUR TONIGHT BETWEEN 11 AND 12 PM APRIL 24. BOAT AND HOME OWNERS ON THE LAKE ARE URGED TO TAKE THE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT THEIR PROPERTY. MAC
The office that day
Everything else NWS Blacksburg, VA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 24, 2:00 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RNK | Henry | 4 hr |
| Apr 24, 3:50 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RNK | Montgomery | 2 hr |
| Apr 24, 3:50 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RNK | Franklin | 2 hr |
Nearby
Flash Flood Warnings in Virginia, 1987Every flash flood warning in 1987
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.