Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 9, NWS Blacksburg, VA

May 23, 2004Henry County, City of Martinsville, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this flash flood warning at May 23, 2004, 1:30 PM EDT for Henry County, City of Martinsville, 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 outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 23, 2004, 1:30 PM EDT (17:30 UTC)
Expired: May 23, 2004, 4:30 PM EDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties City of Martinsville, VA, Henry County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 50 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:34 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 12:00Z, 5.5 hours before the alert went out and 67 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 295 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -72 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1011 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -30 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 4 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 
WGUS51 KRNK 231732
FFWRNK
VAC089-690-232030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
130 PM EDT SUN MAY 23 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  HENRY COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA
  MARTINSVILLE IN SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA

* UNTIL 430 PM EDT

* AT 129 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  VERY HEAVY RAIN FROM A THUNDERSTORM NEAR VILLA HEIGHTS...OR ABOUT
  OVER MARTINSVILLE CITY...MOVING EAST AT 5 MPH.

* THE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING FLASH FLOODING WILL BE NEAR...
  OVER CHATMOSS BY 150 PM EDT
  4 MILES SOUTH OF LEATHERWOOD BY 210 PM EDT

ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF UP TO 2 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN THE 
WARNED AREA.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS...URBAN AREAS...HIGHWAYS...STREETS AND UNDERPASSES
AS WELL AS OTHER DRAINAGE AREAS AND LOW LYING SPOTS.

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.

PLEASE RELAY REPORTS OF FLOODING TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BY
CALLING TOLL FREE...1...8 6 6...2 1 5...4 3 2 4.

LAT...LON 3676 8004 3661 7998 3658 7972 3675 7973

$$

JH

2 follow-up statements

000 
WGUS71 KRNK 231818
FFSRNK
VAC089-690-232030-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
215 PM EDT SUN MAY 23 2004

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 430 PM EDT FOR HENRY COUNTY 
AS WELL AS THE CITY OF MARTINSVILLE...

AT 214 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO 
INDICATE A THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN.  THIS STORM WAS 
LOCATED NEAR MARTINSVILLE CITY...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 5 MPH.

MANY STREETS WERE REPORTED FLOODED IN THE CITY OF MARTINSVILLE. 
JONES CREEK WAS ALSO OUT OF ITS BANKS. AN ADDITIONAL INCH OF RAIN 
CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGH 3:15 PM...WHICH WILL LIKELY CAUSE ADDITIONAL 
FLOODING PROBLEMS ACROSS THE COUNTY AS WELL AS IN THE CITY OF 
MARTINSVILLE.

TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT FLOODING...PLEASE CONTACT THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG AT...1...8 6 6...2 1 5...4 3 2 4.

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
FOR HIGHER GROUND. MOST FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.

LAT...LON 3676 8004 3661 7998 3658 7972 3675 7973

$$
JH

000 
WGUS71 KRNK 231949
FFSRNK
VAC089-690-232030-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
348 PM EDT SUN MAY 23 2004

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR HENRY COUNTY INCLUDING THE CITY OF 
MARTINSVILLE HAS BEEN CANCELLED...

THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING EXCESSIVE RAINFALL HAVE WEAKENED SINCE 2:30 
PM. CREEKS AND STREAMS HAVE RECEDED AND STREET FLOODING HAS ENDED 
WITHIN THE CITY OF MARTINSVILLE. SOME ADDITIONAL SHOWER ACTIVITY 
WILL OCCUR OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS...BUT THIS SHOULD NOT BE ENOUGH 
TO CAUSE ADDITIONAL FLASH FLOODING.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR THE LOCAL MEDIA FOR ADDITIONAL
SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION. REPORT ANY FLOODING OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY
FLOODING TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS AND ASK THEM TO
IMMEDIATELY RELAY THE REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN
BLACKSBURG.

LAT...LON 3676 8004 3661 7998 3658 7972 3675 7973

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 23, 11:47 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Montgomery, City of Radford	43 min
May 23, 12:57 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Henry, City of Martinsville	48 min
May 23, 1:40 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Patrick	35 min
May 23, 1:44 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Henry, City of Martinsville	46 min
May 23, 2:01 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Bedford	44 min
May 23, 2:06 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Franklin	39 min
May 23, 2:29 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Carroll, Grayson, City of Galax	61 min
May 23, 2:40 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Pittsylvania	65 min
May 23, 3:01 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Patrick	44 min
May 23, 3:27 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Floyd	63 min
May 23, 4:06 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Montgomery	54 min
May 23, 4:25 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Grayson	50 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Virginia, 2004 Every flash flood warning in 2004

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.