Alert archive / West Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 2002

Flash Flood Warning 5, NWS Charleston, WV

May 2, 2002McDowell County, West Virginia; Buchanan County, Virginia

NWS Charleston, WV issued this flash flood warning at May 2, 2002, 4:43 PM EDT for McDowell County, West Virginia; Buchanan County, Virginia. It was in force for 3 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 2, 2002, 4:43 PM EDT (20:43 UTC)
Expired
May 2, 2002, 7:45 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Charleston, WV
Area
Whole counties

Counties Buchanan County, VA, McDowell County, WV

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 208 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 12:00Z on 2002-05-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 317 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 2002-05-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 382 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
317 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-54 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
667 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
68 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
382 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
418 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS51 KRLX 022043
FFWRLX
VAC027-WVC047-022345-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
445 PM EDT THU MAY 2 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  BUCHANAN COUNTY IN VIRGINIA...
  MCDOWELL COUNTY IN WEST VIRGINIA...

* UNTIL 745 PM EDT...

* AT 435 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A LARGE 
AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER MCDOWELL AND BUCHANAN 
COUNTIES.  RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF AROUND 2 INCHES HAS OCCURRED OVER THE 
PAST 6 HOURS AND MORE RAINFALL IS EXPECTED.

LOCAL OFFICIALS IN MCDOWELL COUNTY HAVE REPORTED NUMEROUS WATER 
PROBLEMS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY.  ROUTE 52 HAS HIGH WATER OVER THE 
ROADS EAST AND WEST OF WELCH...AND ROUTE 16 NORTH OF THE CITY IS 
PARTIALLY BLOCKED.

* SOME LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING AREA INCLUDE DAVENPORT...GRUNDY...
  HURLEY AND WELCH.

--CALL TO ACTION-- A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS
IMMINENT OR OCCURRING. IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA MOVE TO HIGHER
GROUND IMMEDIATELY. RESIDENTS LIVING ALONG STREAMS AND CREEKS SHOULD
TAKE IMMEDIATE PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS SWIFTLY FLOWING WATERS OR WATERS OF UNKNOWN DEPTH BY
FOOT OR BY AUTOMOBILE. IF YOUR VEHICLE STALLS, ABANDON IT IMMEDIATELY
AND SEEK HIGHER GROUND.

--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.

--CALL TO ACTION-- STAY TUNED TO WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA FOR ANY
FURTHER STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS.

PLEASE REPORT HIGH WATER...HAIL OR STRONG WINDS TO THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE BY CALLING TOLL FREE...877-633-6772...WHEN YOU CAN DO
SO SAFELY.

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 2, 1:00 AM EDTTornado WarningRLXRaleigh30 min
May 2, 1:34 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXMason26 min
May 2, 2:06 AM EDTTornado WarningRLXGilmer24 min
May 2, 11:38 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXLogan37 min
May 2, 11:44 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXMingo31 min
May 2, 11:50 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXBoone40 min
May 2, 11:55 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXLogan, Mingo3 hr
May 2, 12:52 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXMcDowell23 min
May 2, 1:47 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXMcDowell3 hr
May 2, 1:53 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXMcDowell37 min
May 2, 3:35 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXLogan, Mingo3 hr
May 2, 3:59 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXMcDowell46 min
May 2, 6:36 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXLogan, Mingo3 hr
May 2, 7:36 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningRLXMcDowell6 hr
May 2, 2:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXDickenson38 min
May 2, 2:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXBuchanan34 min
May 2, 4:14 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXFloyd31 min
May 2, 6:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRLXDickenson43 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in West Virginia, 2002Flash Flood Warnings in Virginia, 2002Every flash flood warning in 2002

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.