Flash Flood, Preston
- When
- January 19, 5:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
- Where
- Preston County, Rowlesburg
- Coordinates
- 39.469, -79.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in West Virginia, January 19, 1996
50 inches of runoff between the afternoon of the 18th and the afternoon of the 19th into area streams. Numerous streams went out of their banks and roads were flooded, some homes and basements were also flooded.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS PBZ wrote it up.
Moderate rains and a melting snow cover (15-25 inches in the mountains of West Virginia) on saturated soils, released an estimated amount of 3.50 to 4.50 inches of runoff between the afternoon of the 18th and the afternoon of the 19th into area streams. Numerous streams went out of their banks and roads were flooded, some homes and basements were also flooded. The flood waters entered the Cheat River, producing near-record flooding there. Nine residences sustained major damage, 24 minor damage and 90 minimally affected in Preston County (note: damages from small stream flooding and flooding along the Cheat River were not differentiated. Damages totaled $0.71 Million for Preston County and $1.7 Million for Tucker County.
The radar
The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 127 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:58 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flood in New York, January 19 to 20, 1996
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, January 19, 1996
- Flooding in Virginia, January 19 to 22, 1996
- Flooding in Pennsylvania, January 19 to 21, 1996
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, January 19, 1996
- Flood in New York, January 19 to 20, 1996
- Flooding in Vermont, January 19 to 20, 1996
- Flooding in New York, January 19 to 20, 1996
- Flash Flood in New York, January 19 to 20, 1996
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, January 19, 1996
- Flooding in Maryland, January 19 to 22, 1996
- Flooding in West Virginia, January 19 to 21, 1996
More
Every storm in West Virginia in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, January 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5576245.