Alert archive / West Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 1998

Flash Flood Warning 13, NWS Charleston, WV

March 20, 1998Clay County, Fayette County, Kanawha County, West Virginia

NWS Charleston, WV issued this flash flood warning at Mar 20, 1998, 7:42 PM EST for Clay County, Fayette County, Kanawha County, West Virginia. It was in force for 4 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
Mar 20, 1998, 7:42 PM EST (00:42 UTC)
Expired
Mar 21, 1998, 12:00 AM EST
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS Charleston, WV
Area
Whole counties

Counties Clay County, WV, Fayette County, WV, Kanawha County, WV

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 193 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 1998-03-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 440 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 1998-03-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 178 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
440 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-13 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
713 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
178 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
238 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCRW 210044
FFWCRW
WVC019-015-039-087-210500-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
742 PM EST FRI MAR 20 1998
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...S...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA
 
   ...FAYETTE COUNTY
 
IN WEST CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA
 
   ...CLAY COUNTY...EASTERN KANAWHA COUNTY...ROANE COUNTY
 
RADAR AND RAIN GAUGE DATA INDICATE THAT OVER AN INCH OF RAIN HAS FALLEN
IN PARTS OF THE WARNED AREA...AND RAINFALL RATES OF AROUND A HALF AN
INCH AN HOUR CONTINUE. A MUD SLIDE WAS REPORTED ON ROUTE 61 NEAR PRATT
IN EASTERN KANAWHA COUNTY. IN ADDITION...SANDY CREEK WAS REPORTED OUT
OF ITS BANKS NEAR AMMA IN SOUTHERN ROANE COUNTY...BLOCKING SOME COUNTY
ROADS.
 
<< CALL TO ACTION >> 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. WATCH OUT FOR MUD SLIDES.
 
.END/LDW

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 20, 7:42 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningRLXRoane4 hr
Mar 20, 8:41 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningRLXBraxton, Webster3 hr
Mar 20, 11:23 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningRLXMcDowell4 hr
Mar 21, 12:32 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningRLXFayette, Kanawha, Roane3 hr
Mar 21, 4:02 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningRLXKanawha, Roane3 hr
Mar 21, 4:02 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningRLXFayette3 hr
Mar 21, 4:02 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningRLXMcDowell3 hr
Mar 21, 4:12 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningRLXFayette, Kanawha, Roane3 hr
Mar 21, 4:12 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningRLXMcDowell3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in West Virginia, 1998Every flash flood warning in 1998

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.