Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Watches in 2009

Flash Flood Watch 1, NWS Blacksburg, VA

May 26, 200932 counties in Virginia; 9 counties in North Carolina

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this flash flood watch at May 26, 2009, 12:07 PM EDT for 32 counties in Virginia; 9 counties in North Carolina. It was in force for 20 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 26, 2009, 12:07 PM EDT (16:07 UTC)
Expired
May 27, 2009, 8:00 AM EDT
In force
20 hr
Issued by
NWS Blacksburg, VA
Flood severity
None
All 41 counties

Alleghany County, NC, Ashe County, NC, Caswell County, NC, Rockingham County, NC, Stokes County, NC, Surry County, NC, Watauga County, NC, Wilkes County, NC, Yadkin County, NC, Alleghany County, VA, Amherst County, VA, Appomattox County, VA, Bath County, VA, Bedford County, VA, Botetourt County, VA, Buckingham County, VA, Campbell County, VA, Carroll County, VA, Charlotte County, VA, City of Buena Vista, VA, City of Covington, VA, City of Danville, VA, City of Galax, VA, City of Lexington, VA, City of Lynchburg, VA, City of Martinsville, VA, City of Radford, VA, City of Roanoke, VA, City of Salem, VA, Craig County, VA, Floyd County, VA, Franklin County, VA, Giles County, VA, Halifax County, VA, Henry County, VA, Montgomery County, VA, Patrick County, VA, Pittsylvania County, VA, Pulaski County, VA, Roanoke County, VA, Rockbridge County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 26 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:08 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

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 4.1 hours before the alert went out and 107 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 2009-05-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 254 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 2009-05-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 3 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
254 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
478 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
1 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood watch 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 watch went out at May 26, 12:01 PM EDT, 6 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 26, 12:01 PM EDT, 6 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, May 26, 11:39 AM EDT, 28 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, May 26, 6:38 AM EDT, 5 hours 29 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 26, 10:14 AM EDT, 1 hour 53 minutes before
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Special weather statement, May 26, 11:35 AM EDT, 32 minutes before
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 25, 8:26 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementRNKHalifax34 min
May 25, 9:37 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementRNKHalifax23 min
May 26, 4:08 AM EDTSpecial Weather StatementRNKCarroll, Grayson, City of Galax52 min
May 26, 11:35 AM EDTSpecial Weather StatementRNKGiles55 min
May 26, 7:04 PM EDTSpecial Weather StatementRNKFloyd, Montgomery56 min
May 26, 1:01 AM EDTSpecial Weather StatementRNKWilkes2 hr
May 26, 3:07 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningRNKWilkes10 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Watches in Virginia, 2009Flash Flood Watches in North Carolina, 2009Every flash flood watch in 2009

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.