Alert archive / West Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 1989
Flash Flood Warning 46, NWS Charleston, WV
NWS Charleston, WV issued this flash flood warning at Jul 5, 1989, 7:33 PM EDT for Putnam County, West Virginia. It was in force for 2 hr.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 5, 1989, 7:33 PM EDT (23:33 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 5, 1989, 10:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 2 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Charleston, WV
- Area
- Whole counties
County Putnam 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, 11.6 hours before the alert went out and 54 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
- 23 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -59 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 645 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 7 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 5 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 33 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 KCRW 052335 RRA
FFWCRW
WVC079-060200-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
733 PM EDT WED JUL 5 1989
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 10 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY
IN THE WEST CENTRAL PART OF WEST VIRGINIA
PUTNAM
HEAVY RAIN HAS BEEN FALLING OVER PUTMAN COUNTY SINCE 6 PM.
AT 730 PM...HEAVY RAINS WERE CONTINUING...BUT SHOWING SIGNS
OF DECREASING IN INTENSITY. SMALL STREAM FLOODING AND
FLOODING OF POOR DRAINAGE AREAS ARE LIKELY AS A RESULT OF
THESE DOWNPOURS. THE RAIN SHOULD SHOULD CONTINUE TO DECREASE
AFTER SUNSET...BUT SMALL STREAMS WILL TAKE LONGER TO RECEDE.
EVACUATIONS ARE LIKELY...MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND TO PROTECT LIFE.
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 ROADWAY.
NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL ONE...ON FOOT.
TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.
DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS ROADWAYS.
VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED IMMEDIATELY.
MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.
BATTYWhat 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, Jul 5, 4:25 PM EDT, 3 hours 8 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 425 PM EDT WED JUL 5 1989 SCATTERED DOWNPOURS DRIFTING ABOUT THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS BETWEEN 4 AND 5 PM. RAINFALL RATES OF AN INCH AN HOUR ARE EASILY POSSIBLE UNDER THESE LOCALIZED DOWNPOURS. THE LARGEST CONCENTRATION OF HEAVY SHOWERS AT 4:15 PM WAS IN CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA...INCLUDING PARTS OF THE HUGHES RIVER...LITTLE KANAWHA...AND ELK RIVER VALLEYS. HOWEVER...OTHER SMALL BUT HEAVY SHOWERS WERE FORMING ELSEWHERE IN WEST VIRGINIA AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. FOR EXAMPLE...TROUT DALE OF GRAYSON COUNTY VIRGINIA HAD ABOUT AN INCH AND A HALF OF RAIN BETWEEN 2 PM AND 3:30 PM. DRIVERS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR CHANGEABLE WEATHER" AND ROAD CONDITIONS. SMALL STREAMS WILL RISE RAPIDLY DURING A DOWNPOUR. KEEP CHILDREN AWAY FROM THESE TEMPTING BUT DANGEROUS AREAS. BUT DANGEROUS AREAS. THESE LOCAIZLED DOWNPOURS ARE EXPECTED TO DIMINISH AFTER SUNSET. END/BATTY
Special weather statement, Jul 5, 4:28 PM EDT, 3 hours 5 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 430 PM EDT WED JUL 5 1989 SCATTERED DOWNPOURS DRIFTING ABOUT THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS BETWEEN 4 AND 5 PM. RAINFALL RATES OF AN INCH AN HOUR ARE EASILY POSSIBLE UNDER THESE LOCALIZED DOWNPOURS. THE LARGEST CONCENTRATION OF HEAVY SHOWERS AT 4:15 PM WAS IN CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA...INCLUDING PARTS OF THE HUGHES RIVER...LITTLE KANAWHA...AND ELK RIVER VALLEYS. HOWEVER...OTHER SMALL BUT HEAVY SHOWERS WERE FORMING ELSEWHERE IN WEST VIRGINIA AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. FOR EXAMPLE...TROUT DALE OF GRAYSON COUNTY VIRGINIA HAD ABOUT AN INCH AND A HALF OF RAIN BETWEEN 2 PM AND 3:30 PM. DRIVERS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR C+HANGEABLE WEATHER AND ROAD CONDITIONS. SMALL STREAMS WILL RISE RAPIDLY DURING A DOWNPOUR. KEEP CHILDREN AWAY FROM THESE TEMPTING BUT DANGEROUS AREAS. THESE LOCAIZLED DOWNPOURS ARE EXPECTED TO DIMINISH AFTER SUNSET. END/BATTY
Special weather statement, Jul 5, 6:33 PM EDT, 1 hour before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 630 PM EDT WED JUL 5 1989 ISOLATED DOWNPOURS WERE DRIFTING ABOUT THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS BETWEEN 6 AND 7 PM. RAINFALL RATES OF AN INCH AN HOUR ARE EASILY POSSIBLE UNDER THESE LOCALIZED DOWNPOURS. THIS WILL CAUSE SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS TO SWELL RAPIDLY...AND PRODUCE STANDING WATER IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. THE LARGEST CONCENTRATION OF HEAVIER SHOWERS WAS IN PUTNAM... JACKSON...ROANE...AND NORTHERN KANAWHA COUNTY. SOME OF THE SMALL STREAMS BEING AFFECTED WERE BLUE CREEK AND ALLENS FORK IN NORTHERN KANAWHA COUNTY...LEFT AND MIDDLE FORK IN SOUTHERN JACKSON COUNTY....AND HURRICANE CREEK IN PUTNAM COUNTY. THESE LOCAIZLED DOWNPOURS ARE EXPECTED TO DIMINISH AFTER SUNSET. END/BATTY
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.