Alert archive / West Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 2026
Flash Flood Warning 47, NWS Charleston, WV
NWS Charleston, WV issued this flash flood warning at Jul 6, 2026, 4:57 PM EDT for Cabell County, Mason County, West 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
- Jul 6, 2026, 4:57 PM EDT (20:57 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 6, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Charleston, WV
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
- Flood severity
- None
Counties Cabell County, WV, Mason County, WV
The radar
The Charleston,WV radar (KRLX), 48 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:58 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
Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), launched 12:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 171 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 534 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -45 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 818 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 10 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 49 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 77 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this flash flood warning 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 flash flood warning went out at Jul 6, 2:03 PM EDT, 2 hours 54 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- KEY MESSAGE 1... Mainly diurnally driven showers and thunderstorms are ongoing across the region this afternoon. A surface trough located across southeast Ohio is providing a localized area of enhanced surface convergence, which is focusing the highest coverage of convective activity just west of the forecast area at this hour. This activity will continue to drift east through the late afternoon and early evening hours. The column remains moist with PWATs in the 1.7 to 1.9 inch range with forcast MLCAPE values in the 1000-2000J/kg range. Deep layer shear remains weak, generally around 15-20KTs, which will foster a mix of weak multicellular and pulse storm modes. The primary hazard with these storms will be wet downbursts. While severe criteria gusts of 58 mph are not widely expected, steep low-level lapse rates and Downdraft CAPE values of 500 to 600 J/kg will be sufficient to produce localized wind gusts in the 40 to 45 mph range. With full foliage currently on trees across Appalachia, gusts of this magnitude are often sufficient to cause localized tree damage and subsequent power outages. In addition to the wind threat, the moist column and slow storm motions will yield highly efficient rainfall rates. Rainfall intensities exceeding 2 inches per hour may lead to localized flash flooding, particularly if training echoes develop or if heavy rain falls over the steep terrain and narrow hollows across the region. Convection is expected to wane by 01Z to 02Z with the loss of daytime heating. Overnight, areas that receive rainfall and subsequently clear out will be primed for the development of dense valley fog due to strong radiational cooling and cold air drainage into the river valleys. KEY MESSAGE 2... Transient upper level ridging will briefly build across the region Tuesday and Wednesday. This will result in a decrease in the overall diurnal convective coverage, with Wednesday featuring the lowest precipitation chances of the work week. Valley fog will remain a diurnal threat each night during the early morning hours, particularly in the deep, sheltered river valleys. KEY MESSAGE 3... The transient ridging will break down by Thursday as upper level troughing reestablishes itself over the Ohio Valley. A more defined surface front will push southeast toward the Middle Ohio Valley late in the week and into the weekend. While there remains some disagreement among numerical guidance regarding the precise timing and amplitude of these synoptic features, confidence is increasing in a general uptick in precipitation probabilities Thursday and especially Friday. A surge of higher precipitable water air will accompany this system, elevating the potential for highly efficient rainfall-producing storms. As the frontal boundary gradually sags south through the weekend, an increase in deep-layer shear associated with the stronger flow aloft may introduce a better potential for organized convection, though the exact mesoscale details remain murky at this lead time.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 6, 2:03 PM EDT, 2 hours 54 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Charleston WV 203 PM EDT Mon Jul 6 2026 .WHAT HAS CHANGED... Overall forecast thinking remains largely similar. Decent convective coverage today, decreasing into Wednesday, then increases again late in the week. Updated 18Z Aviation Discussion. && .KEY MESSAGES... KEY MESSAGE 1... Mainly diurnally driven showers and thunderstorms are ongoing across the region this afternoon. A surface trough located across southeast Ohio is providing a localized area of enhanced surface convergence, which is focusing the highest coverage of convective activity just west of the forecast area at this hour. This activity will continue to drift east through the late afternoon and early evening hours. The column remains moist with PWATs in the 1.7 to 1.9 inch range with forcast MLCAPE values in the 1000-2000J/kg range. Deep layer shear remains weak, generally around 15-20KTs, which will foster a mix of weak multicellular and pulse storm modes. The primary hazard with these storms will be wet downbursts. While severe criteria gusts of 58 mph are not widely expected, steep low-level lapse rates and Downdraft CAPE values of 500 to 600 J/kg will be sufficient to produce localized wind gusts in the 40 to 45 mph range. With full foliage currently on trees across Appalachia, gusts of this magnitude are often sufficient to cause localized tree damage and subsequent power outages. In addition to the wind threat, the moist column and slow storm motions will yield highly efficient rainfall rates. Rainfall intensities exceeding 2 inches per hour may lead to localized flash flooding, particularly if training echoes develop or if heavy rain falls over the steep terrain and narrow hollows across the region. Convection is expected to wane by 01Z to 02Z with the loss of daytime heating. Overnight, areas that receive rainfall and subsequently clear out will be primed for the development of dense valley fog due to strong radiational cooling and cold air drainage into the river valleys. KEY MESSAGE 2... Transient upper level ridging will briefly build across the region Tuesday and Wednesday. This will result in a decrease in the overall diurnal convective coverage, with Wednesday featuring the lowest precipitation chances of the work week. Valley fog will remain a diurnal threat each night during the early morning hours, particularly in the deep, sheltered river valleys. KEY MESSAGE 3... The transient ridging will break down by Thursday as upper level troughing reestablishes itself over the Ohio Valley. A more defined surface front will push southeast toward the Middle Ohio Valley late in the week and into the weekend. While there remains some disagreement among numerical guidance regarding the precise timing and amplitude of these synoptic features, confidence is increasing in a general uptick in precipitation probabilities Thursday and especially Friday. A surge of higher precipitable water air will accompany this system, elevating the potential for highly efficient rainfall-producing storms. As the frontal boundary gradually sags south through the weekend, an increase in deep-layer shear associated with the stronger flow aloft may introduce a better potential for organized convection, though the exact mesoscale details remain murky at this lead time. && .AVIATION /18Z MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... Pop-up convection is developing across the region this afternoon. The best focus for scattered showers and thunderstorms will be along a surface trough currently moving through southeast Ohio. Highest confidence in direct terminal impacts exists at KHTS and KPKB, where TEMPO groups for thunderstorms and heavy rain have been included through the late afternoon. Elsewhere, PROB30 groups have been utilized to account for the more isolated nature of the convection. Brief periods of IFR or lower conditions are possible with any direct impacts from heavy rainfall. Convective activity is expected to largely fade between 01Z and 02Z this evening with the loss of diurnal heating. Overnight, the development of river valley fog is likely, particularly at terminals that receive rainfall this afternoon and experience early clearing. IFR to LIFR visibilities and ceilings are expected to develop in the favored valleys, persisting until mixing commences around 12-13Z Tuesday morning. FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND ALTERNATE SCENARIOS THROUGH 18Z TUESDAY... FORECAST CONFIDENCE: Medium. ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: Timing and intensity of showers and thunderstorms this afternoon and evening could vary. Significance of fog overnight will largely depend on rainfall this afternoon and timing of clearing overnight. EXPERIMENTAL TABLE OF FLIGHT CATEGORY OBJECTIVELY SHOWS CONSISTENCY OF WFO FORECAST TO AVAILABLE MODEL INFORMATION: H = HIGH: TAF CONSISTENT WITH ALL MODELS OR ALL BUT ONE MODEL. M = MEDIUM: TAF HAS VARYING LEVEL OF CONSISTENCY WITH MODELS. L = LOW: TAF INCONSISTENT WITH ALL MODELS OR ALL BUT ONE MODEL. UTC 1HRLY 18 19 20 21 22 23 00 01 02 03 04 05 EDT 1HRLY 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 00 01 CRW CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H M HTS CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H M L BKW CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H M EKN CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H PKB CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H M H CKB CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H AFTER 18Z TUESDAY... IFR conditions associated with thunderstorms remains possible through the work week and into the weekend, more likely in the afternoon and evening hours. Dense fog possible each night in areas that receive rainfall the afternoon and evening before. && .RLX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WV...None. OH...None. KY...None. VA...None. && DISCUSSION...JP AVIATION...JP
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 6, 3:30 PM EDT, 1 hour 27 minutes before
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</html>The office that day
Everything else NWS Charleston, WV issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 6, 2:46 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RLX | Pocahontas | 3 hr |
| Jul 6, 3:54 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Kanawha, Putnam | 36 min |
| Jul 6, 4:27 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RLX | Putnam | 33 min |
| Jul 6, 4:35 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RLX | Cabell | 25 min |
| Jul 6, 4:49 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Cabell | 26 min |
| Jul 6, 4:55 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RLX | Putnam | 35 min |
| Jul 6, 5:01 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RLX | Clay | 29 min |
| Jul 6, 5:08 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Cabell, Putnam | 21 min |
| Jul 6, 5:28 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RLX | Putnam | 32 min |
| Jul 6, 5:59 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RLX | Kanawha | 31 min |
| Jul 6, 6:53 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RLX | Mingo | 37 min |
| Jul 6, 7:09 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RLX | Mingo | 21 min |
| Jul 6, 7:14 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RLX | McDowell | 3 hr |
| Jul 6, 7:29 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RLX | Mingo | 31 min |
| Jul 6, 7:55 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RLX | McDowell | 35 min |
| Jul 5, 8:01 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RLX | Perry | 29 min |
| Jul 6, 2:28 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RLX | Athens | 32 min |
| Jul 6, 2:36 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RLX | Perry | 24 min |
| Jul 6, 3:20 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RLX | Vinton | 25 min |
| Jul 6, 3:25 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RLX | Lawrence | 35 min |
| Jul 6, 2:35 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RLX | Greenup | 25 min |
| Jul 6, 3:30 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RLX | Carter | 30 min |
| Jul 6, 3:58 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RLX | Carter | 32 min |
| Jul 6, 4:45 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RLX | Lawrence | 30 min |
Nearby
Flash Flood Warnings in West Virginia, 2026Every flash flood warning in 2026
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.