Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 19, NWS Blacksburg, VA

May 16, 1996Bland County, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this flash flood warning at May 16, 1996, 5:47 AM EDT for Bland County, Virginia. It was in force for 2 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 16, 1996, 5:47 AM EDT (09:47 UTC)
Expired
May 16, 1996, 8:00 AM EDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area
Whole counties

County Bland County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 77 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:49 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 00:00Z, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 145 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, Roanoke, VA at 00:00Z on 1996-05-16Temperature 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, Roanoke, VA at 00:00Z on 1996-05-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 274 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
503 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
274 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
484 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 KROA 160948 COR
FFWRNK
VAC021-161200-

BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLOOD WARNING  ......CORRECTED HEADER......
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
547 AM EDT THU MAY 16 1996

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG VA HAS ISSUED A
FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 800 AM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE
FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA

   ...BLAND

AT 546 AM THE BLAND COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE REPORTED FLOODING AT
ROCKY GAP AND WILDERNESS ROAD.  REPORTS OF WATER ON SOME ROADS IN
AND NEAR ROCKY GAP.  REPORTS HAVE ALSO BEEN RECEIVED OF 1 TO 11/2
FEET OF WATER ON WILDERNESS ROAD.

A MUDSLIDE HAS BEEN REPORTED ON ROUTE I77 NEAR MILE MARKER 64 ON
THE SOUTHBOUND SIDE.

AT 545 AM RADAR INDICATED THE HEAVIEST OF THE RAIN WAS PAST BLAND
COUNTY AND CONTINUING TO TRACK TO THE SOUTHEAST.  THROUGH THE EARLY
MORNING HOURS ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE
POSSIBLE.  ANY ADDITIONAL RAIN WILL AGGRIVATE THE FLOODING.

DON'T DRIVE ACROnSS FLOODED ROADS! MOST FLOODING DEATHS OCCUR
IN AUTOMOBILES.

NOGUEIRA

&

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.

NWS Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at May 16, 2:19 AM EDT, 3 hours 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 16, 2:19 AM EDT, 3 hours 28 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
215 AM EDT THU MAY 16 1995

SAT PIX AND 88D FINALLY INDCTNG TRAINING OVR OH BEGINNING TO END AND
A BACK EDGE TO THE HVIER RAINS HDING FOR FFA AREA IN RNK CWA.  THIS
TREND SHUD CONT THRU THE PREDAWN HRS...AND MAY ALLOW FOR TAKING DOWN
THE FFA FOR THOSE COUNTIES.

WARM FRNT STILL LCTD TO THE W OF RNK CWA.  DRNG THE DAY TDY FRNT SHU
CONT ITS STRGL TO THE NE...AND SHUD SEE AT LEAST SWRN PART OF CWA
BRKING INTO WARMER AIR. NEXT SHRTWV PRGD TO TRK TO THE S OF MUCH OF
CWA WITH BEST CHC FOR HVIER AND BEST ORGANZD SHOWERS/TSTMS POSS
MAKING IT INTO FAR SW/NRN NC MTNS AND WILL ADDRESS PTNTL FOR HVIER
PRECIP LATER THIS PM AND TONIGHT IN SEVERE WX PTNTL AT 630 AM.

FRNT SEEMS TO LIFT NWD THRU TONIGHT...THEN TEMPORARILY BEGINS TO SINK
SWD AGAIN AS BACKDOOR TYPE FRNT DRING FRI AS H5 RIDGE SHARPENS AND
UPPER WINDS BECOME MORE NWRLY AND STRNGR NWRLY.  ETA SFC BASED LI'S
ALSO INDCTING THIS TREND AND COULD ADD UP TO SOME INTRSTING WX ON
FRI PM FOR SWRN PDMNT AND UP AGNST BLU RDG.

FINALLY AS WE HEAD INTO THE WEEKEND MORE POTNT SHRTWV LIFTS INTO THE
GREAT LAKES AND LIFTS FRONT BACK TO THE NORTH FOR REMDER OF WEEKEND
TO BRING A TASTE OF HOT AND HUMID TO THE AREA.

ROA 72/57/85/63 5333

NOGUEIRA

The office that day

Everything else NWS Blacksburg, VA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 16, 7:12 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRNKPulaski3 hr
May 16, 7:57 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRNKBland3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Virginia, 1996Every flash flood warning in 1996

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.