Alert archive / West Virginia / Flood Watches in 2015

Flood Watch 7, NWS Charleston, WV

December 24, 201528 counties in West Virginia; 7 counties in Ohio; 4 counties in Kentucky

NWS Charleston, WV issued this flood watch at Dec 24, 2015, 1:40 PM EST for 28 counties in West Virginia; 7 counties in Ohio; 4 counties in Kentucky. It took effect at Dec 25, 2015, 11:00 AM EST. It was in force for 27 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Dec 24, 2015, 1:40 PM EST (18:40 UTC)
In effect from: Dec 25, 2015, 11:00 AM EST
Expired: Dec 26, 2015, 2:10 PM EST
In force: 27 hr
Issued by: NWS Charleston, WV
Flood severity: None

All 39 counties

Boyd County, KY, Carter County, KY, Greenup County, KY, Lawrence County, KY, Athens County, OH, Gallia County, OH, Jackson County, OH, Lawrence County, OH, Meigs County, OH, Vinton County, OH, Washington County, OH, Barbour County, WV, Boone County, WV, Braxton County, WV, Cabell County, WV, Calhoun County, WV, Clay County, WV, Doddridge County, WV, Gilmer County, WV, Harrison County, WV, Jackson County, WV, Kanawha County, WV, Lewis County, WV, Lincoln County, WV, Logan County, WV, Mason County, WV, McDowell County, WV, Mingo County, WV, Pleasants County, WV, Putnam County, WV, Ritchie County, WV, Roane County, WV, Taylor County, WV, Tyler County, WV, Upshur County, WV, Wayne County, WV, Wirt County, WV, Wood County, WV, Wyoming County, WV

The radar

The Charleston,WV radar (KRLX), 45 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:41 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, 6.7 hours before the alert went out and 249 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: 207 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -33 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 460 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 59 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 448 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 468 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.2
Supercell composite: 2.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flood watch went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Charleston, WV wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flood watch went out at Dec 24, 1:25 PM EST, 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 24, 1:25 PM EST, 15 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 24, 3:22 AM EST, 10 hours 18 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
322 AM EST THU DEC 24 2015

KYZ101>103-105-OHZ066-067-075-076-083>087-VAZ003-004-WVZ005>011-
013>020-024>040-046-047-250830-
GREENUP-CARTER-BOYD-LAWRENCE KY-PERRY-MORGAN-ATHENS-WASHINGTON-
JACKSON OH-VINTON-MEIGS-GALLIA-LAWRENCE OH-DICKENSON-BUCHANAN-WAYNE-
CABELL-MASON-JACKSON WV-WOOD-PLEASANTS-TYLER-LINCOLN-PUTNAM-KANAWHA-
ROANE-WIRT-CALHOUN-RITCHIE-DODDRIDGE-MINGO-LOGAN-BOONE-CLAY-BRAXTON-
GILMER-LEWIS-HARRISON-TAYLOR-MCDOWELL-WYOMING-RALEIGH-FAYETTE-
NICHOLAS-WEBSTER-UPSHUR-BARBOUR-POCAHONTAS-RANDOLPH-
322 AM EST THU DEC 24 2015

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST
KENTUCKY...SOUTHEAST OHIO...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND MUCH OF WEST
VIRGINIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY FOR HEAVY RAIN FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY.
FLOODING COULD BECOME A PROBLEM ON SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Dec 24, 9:44 AM EST, 3 hours 56 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Dec 24, 10:41 AM EST, 2 hours 59 minutes before

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Local storm report, Dec 24, 11:28 AM EST, 2 hours 12 minutes before

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The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 23, 11:22 PM EST	Special Weather Statement	RLX	Pleasants, Ritchie, Tyler, Wirt, Wood	53 min
Dec 24, 1:46 AM EST	Special Weather Statement	RLX	Cabell, Mason, Wayne	44 min
Dec 24, 2:23 AM EST	Special Weather Statement	RLX	Jackson, Putnam, Roane, Wirt	52 min
Dec 24, 10:41 AM EST	Special Weather Statement	RLX	Pleasants	4 hr
Dec 23, 9:23 PM EST	Special Weather Statement	RLX	Perry, Vinton	52 min
Dec 23, 10:16 PM EST	Special Weather Statement	RLX	Jackson, Vinton	59 min
Dec 23, 10:44 PM EST	Special Weather Statement	RLX	Athens, Gallia, Meigs	61 min
Dec 23, 10:53 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RLX	Athens, Meigs	33 min
Dec 24, 4:21 AM EST	Special Weather Statement	RLX	Washington	5 hr
Dec 24, 9:44 AM EST	Special Weather Statement	RLX	Washington	106 min

Nearby

Flood Watches in West Virginia, 2015 Flood Watches in Ohio, 2015 Flood Watches in Kentucky, 2015 Every flood watch in 2015

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.