Alert archive / West Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 1989

Flash Flood Warning 3, NWS Charleston, WV

March 6, 1989Kanawha County, Lincoln County, West Virginia

NWS Charleston, WV issued this flash flood warning at Mar 6, 1989, 9:08 AM EST for Kanawha County, Lincoln County, West Virginia. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 6, 1989, 9:08 AM EST (14:08 UTC)
Expired
Mar 6, 1989, 12:00 PM EST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Charleston, WV
Area
Whole counties

Counties Kanawha County, WV, Lincoln County, WV

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

Huntington/Tri S, WV (KHTS), launched 12:00Z, 2.1 hours before the alert went out and 62 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Huntington/Tri S, WV at 12:00Z on 1989-03-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 9 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Huntington/Tri S, WV at 12:00Z on 1989-03-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 345 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
9 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
501 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
80 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
345 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
543 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KCRW 061412
FFWCRW
WVC039-043-061700-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
908 AM EST MON MAR 6 1989

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL NOON FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES

   IN THE WEST CENTRAL PART OF WEST VIRGINIA
      WESTERN KANAWHA...EASTERN LINCOLN

AT 9 AM...ALUM AND DAVIS CREEK IN WESTERN KANAWHA COUNTY...
WERE OVERFLOWING THEIR BANKS.  SOME TRAILERS AND A CHURCH
WERE BEING THREATENING BY THE RISING WATERS FROM THESE SMALL
STREAMS.  HEAVY SHOWERS HAVE MOVED THROUGH THE REGION OF
EASTERN LINCOLN AND WESTERN KANAWHA COUNTY SINCE 7 AM.  MORE
SHOWERS WERE MOVING THROUGH AT 9AM.  RAIN SHOULD DECREASE
AFTER 11 AM.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS IMMINENT.
MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT ATTEMPT TO
CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS THE ROADWfAY.
NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL ONE...ON FOOT.
TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

BATTY

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, Mar 6, 5:07 AM EST, 4 hours 1 minute before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
500 AM EST MON MAR 6 1989

WINTER WEATHER IS FOLLOWING HEAVY RAINS IN PARTS OF WEST VIRGINIA.

FLOOD WATCHES REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR WEST VIRGINIA AND FLASH FLOOD
WATCHES REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR WESTERN VIRGINIA THIS MORNING.
A FLOOD WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE CHEAT RIVER IN THE NORTHERN
MOUNTAINS OF WEST VIRGINIA THIS MORNING.

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR FREEZING RAIN IS IN EFFECT FOR THIS
AFTERNOON AND FOR SLEET AND SNOW TONIGHT IN NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA
AND ALONG THE OHIO RIVER IN WEST VIRGINIA.  WEST VIRGINIA COUNTIES
WITHIN THE WARNING INCLUDE...

BARBOUR...BRASTON...CABELL...CALHOUN...DODDRIDGE...GILMER...
HARRISON...JACKSON...LEWIS...LINCOLN...MARION...MASON...
MONONGALIA...PLEASANTS...PRESTON...RANDOLPH...RITCHIE...TAYLER...
TUCKER...TYLER...UPSHER...WAYNE...WETZEL...WIRT...AND WOOD.

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT
FOR MUCH OF THE SOUTH CENTRAL AREAS OF WEST VIRGINIA.  WEST VIRGINIA
COUNTIES WITHIN THE ADVISORY AREA INCLUDE...

BOONE...CLAY...KANAWHA...LOGAN...MCDOWELL...MINGO...PUTNAM...ROANE...
AND WYOMING.

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS THAT DANGEROUS WINTER WEATHER WILL SOON
OCCUR.  DO NOT VENTURE OUT ON THE ROADS UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO
IN THE WARNED COUNTIES.

A WINTER STORM ADVISORY MEANS THAT WINTER WEATHER WILL MAKE THE ROADS
HAZARDOUS AND CAUSE OTHER INCONVENIENCES.  DRIVE CAREFULLY WITHIN THE
ADVISORY AREAS...AND ONLY IF YOU MUST.

A FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING WILL OCCUR OR HAS BEEN REPORTED.
MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.  DO NOT DRIVE INTO WATER STANDING OR FLOWING
ACROSS ROADS.  DO NOT APPROACH WATER ON FOOT.  FLOODING DEATHS OCCUR
WHEN PEOPLE DRIVE OR WALK INTO WASHOUTS HIDDEN BY WATER...OR WASHOUTS
SUDDENLY OCCUR...WASHING THE PEOPLE AWAY.

FLOOD WATCHES AND FLASH FLOOD WATCHES MEAN THAT HEAVY RAINS AND WET
GROUND HAVE CREATED THE POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING OR FLASH FLOODING.
LISTEN FOR FORECASTS...STATEMENTS...AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS IF YOU ARE
IN THE WATCH AREAS.

LOW PRESSURE JUST SOUTH OF THE AREA IS MOVING EAST.  WARM HUMID AIR
FROM THE GULF IS FEEDING INTO THE LOW AND BEING LIFTED BY A SHALLOW
LAYER OF COLD AIR JUST TO THE NORTH.  THERE IS SUFFICIENT MOISTURE
FOR FLOOD PRODUCING RAINS THIS MORNING.  THE COLD AIR WILL BECOME COLD
ENOUGH TO FREEZE THE RAIN OVER MUCH OF THE WESTERN AND CREATE AN ICE
STORM OVER MUCH OF THE WESTERN SLOPES.  JUST TO THE NORTHWEST...ACROSS
OHIO AND PENNSYLVANIA...HEAVY SNOW IS...AND WILL CONTINUE TO FALL.

PRECIPITATION SHOULD TAPER OFF AND END LATE TONIGHT OF EARLY TUESDAY
AS THE LOW SINKS SOUTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE CAROLINAS.  LISTEN FOR
UPDATED FORECASTS AND STATEMENTS CONCER0NING THIS WEATHER SITUATION.

END/PARKE
Special weather statement, Mar 6, 5:22 AM EST, 3 hours 46 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTINGTON WEST VIRGINIA
510 AM EST MON MAR 6 1989
...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR EAST KENTUCKY TODAY...
...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SOUTH CENTRAL OHIO TODAY...
...FLOOD WATCH WESTERN WEST VIRGINIA TODAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATES RAIN NORTHEAST KENTUCKY
SOUTHERN OHIO AND WESTERN WEST VIRGINIA.  A SLOW MOVING STORM SYSTEM
WILL BRING MORE RAIN AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORM WITH HEAVY RAIN INTO
THE REGION THIS MORNING.
CFEEKS AND STREAMS ARE REPORTED NEAR BANKFULL...BUT NO FLOODING HAS
BEEN REPORTED.
IF YOU LIVE IN AN AREA THAT FLOODS QUICKLY YOU SHOULD STAY ALERT FOR
ANY ONSET OF HEAVY RAIN. SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS CAN FLOOD VERY QUICKLY
DURING STRONG THUNDERSTORMS.
REPORTS INDICATE THAT FREEZING RAIN HAS CAUSED POWER LINES DOWN AND
ICY ROADS FROM JACKSON OHIO TO JUST NORTH OF PIKETON OHIO.
WEST BOUND TRAVELERS WILL ENCOUNTER FREEZING RAIN...
SLEET AND SN5OW OVER WESTERN AND NORTHERN KENTUCKY
AND SOUTHERN OHIO.

SHUFF
Special weather statement, Mar 6, 6:46 AM EST, 2 hours 22 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BECKLEY WV
645 AM EST MON MAR 6 1989

...FLOOD WATCH FOR THE GREENBRIER VALLEY AND SOUTH CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA
THIS MORNING. THIS INCLUDES THE COUNTIES OF FAYETTE..GREENBRIER..SUMMERS
..MONROE..MERCER AND RALEIGH.

...FLOOD WATCH FOR THIS MORNING..AND A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THIS
AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR THE SOUTHWEST COAL FIELD..THIS INCLUDES THE
COUNTIES OF WYOMING..MCDOWELL..LOGAN AND MINGO.

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA TODAY...

HEAVY RAINS OVERNIGHT CAUSED SOME SMALL STREAMS IN MINGO..LOGAN..WAYNE..
BOONE AND LINCOLN COUNTIES OF SOUTHWEST WEST VIRGINIA TO RISE TO NEAR
BANK FULL. ONLY LIGHT RAIN IS OCCURING ACROSS SOUTHERN WEST VIRGINIA
AND SOUTH WEST VIRGINIA THIS MORNING. HOWEVER HEAVER RAIN ALONG WITH
THE SATURATED GROUND COULD CAUSE ADDITIONAL RISES ON SMALL STREAMS
THROUGH THIS MORNING.

PERSONS LIVING NEAR SMALL STREAMS SHOULD LISTEN FOR THE LATEST WEATHER
INFORMATION AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO SAFETY IF FLOODING IS OBSERVED
OR A WARNING IS ISSUED.

URBAN FLOODING IS POSSIBLE IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. MOTORIST SHOULD NOT
ATTEMT TO DRIVE THROUGH WATER OF UNKNOWN DEPTH FLOWING ACROSS RAODWAYS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR COMMERCIAL BROADCAST FOR FURTHER
STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS.

END/BRAMBLE

The office that day

Everything else NWS Charleston, WV issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 6, 11:10 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningRLXBarbour, Harrison, Lewis, Upshur3 hr
Mar 6, 11:10 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningRLXMarion, Monongalia, Taylor3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in West Virginia, 1989Every flash flood warning in 1989

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.