Alert archive / West Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 1993

Flash Flood Warning 36, NWS Charleston, WV

March 23, 1993Greenbrier County, Monroe County, Summers County, West Virginia

NWS Charleston, WV issued this flash flood warning at Mar 23, 1993, 7:40 PM EST for Greenbrier County, Monroe County, Summers County, West Virginia. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 23, 1993, 7:40 PM EST (00:40 UTC)
Expired
Mar 23, 1993, 10:15 PM EST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Charleston, WV
Area
Whole counties

Counties Greenbrier County, WV, Monroe County, WV, Summers County, WV

The nearest sounding before it

Huntington/Tri S, WV (KHTS), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 180 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 00:00Z on 1993-03-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 1993-03-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 82 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
912 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
82 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
50 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 KBKW 240042 RRA
FFWBKW
WVC025-089-063-240315-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
 
FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BECKLEY WV
740 PM EST TUE MAR 23 1993
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BECKLEY WV HAS ISSUED A
FLOOD WARNING                  EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1015 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...S...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA
 
   ...GREENBRIER COUNTY...SUMMERS COUNTY
 
IN SOUTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA
 
   ...MONROE COUNTY
 
AT 735 PM A SEVERE STORM SPOTTER REPORTED STREAMS AT BANKFUL ACROSS THE
AREA. RADAR AT 735 ALSO SHOWED MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN MOVING ACROSS
MONROE...SUMMERS AND GREENBRIER COUNTIES. WITH STREAMS ALREADY AT
BANKFUL THIS HEAVY RAIN WILL TAKE WATER OUT OF BANKS.
 
 
DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY.  THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO
CROSS SAFELY.  VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE
ABANDONED QUICKLY.  MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.
 
 
 
&D

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 23, 4:36 PM EST, 3 hours 4 minutes before
WVZ005-008-009-010-232235-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKINS WV
435 PM EST TUE MAR 23 1993

...A FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR THE NORTH
CENTRAL..NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND POCAHONTAS COUNTY OF THE GREENBRIER
VALLEY OF WEST VIRGINIA...

...A FLOOD WATCH FOR THE POTOMAC HIGHLANDS OF WEST VIRGINIA
AND GARRETT AND ALLEGANY COUNTIES OF WESTERN MARYLAND UNTIL 8 AM
WEDNESDAY MORNING...

RAIN CONTINUES TO FALL ACROSS THE WATCH AREAS. RAINFALL ACROSS
NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA TODAY RANGES FROM 1/2 TO AROUND AN INCH. RADAR
INDICATES RAIN WITH SOME HEAVIER SHOWERS OVER MOST OF WEST VIRGINIA
NORTHEAST INTO WESTERN MARYLAND.

SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS ARE BANKFULL ACROSS PORTIONS OF NORTHERN
WEST VIRGINIA. BUFFALO CREEK IN MANNINGTON IS REPORTED BANKFULL.
SEVERAL STREAMS IN PRESTON COUNTY ARE RUNNING FULL WITH SOME MINOR
OVERFLOW PROBLEMS REPORTED. OTHER SMALL STREAMS IN NORTHERN WEST
VIRGINIA ARE LIKELY TO CAUSE SOME MINOR FLOODING TO LOW-LYING AREAS
DURING THE NEXT HOUR OR SO. HEAVIER RAINS WILL CAUSE STREAMS TO RISE
EVEN FURTHER.

RAINFALL OF AROUND AN INCH IN 3 TO 6 HOURS OR TWO INCHES IN 24 HOURS
COULD CAUSE SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS TO FLOOD. RAINS OF AROUND 2
INCHES OVER A 12 HOUR PERIOD COULD CAUSE SMALL STREAM FLOODING ACROSS
THE POTOMAC HIGHLANDS OF WEST VIRGINIA AND EXTREME WESTERN MARYLAND.

THE GROUND IS SATURATED OVER THE REGION DUE TO THE RECENT
PRECIPITATION AND SNOWMELT...THEREFORE THE RAIN WILL QUICKLY RUNOFF
INTO THE STREAMS AND CREEKS AND THEN ON INTO THE RIVERS CAUSING
STRONG RISES ON THE WATERWAYS. PONDING WATER ON HIGHWAYS AND FLOODING
TO POOR DRAINAGE AREAS IS POSSIBLE.

PERSONS LIVING ALONG OR NEAR WATERWAYS SHOULD KEEP ALERT AND MOVE TO
HIGHER GROUND IF A WARNING IS ISSUED OR FLOODING IS OBSERVED.
MOTORISTS SHOULD USE CAUTION AND WATCH FOR STANDING OR FLOWING WATER
ON HIGHWAYS.

MONTIOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR COMMERCIAL BROADCAST FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION ON THIS FLOOD THREAT.

END

GILKERSON

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 23, 7:20 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningRLXFayette, Mercer, Raleigh3 hr
Mar 23, 8:05 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningRLXMcDowell2 hr
Mar 23, 11:55 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningRLXPreston95 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in West Virginia, 1993Every flash flood warning in 1993

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.