Flash Flood, Berkeley
- When
- July 30, 4:30 PM EST to 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Berkeley County, Martinsburg
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Coordinates
- 39.464, -78.027 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in West Virginia, July 30, 1996
The same thunderstorm which produced scattered wind damage was also slow-moving, and contained tropical downpours which dumped over 2 inches of rain in less than one hour at some locations. In the city of Martinsburg, several streets were flooded, as were numerous basements.
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
- $20,000
- 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 LWX wrote it up.
The same thunderstorm which produced scattered wind damage was also slow-moving, and contained tropical downpours which dumped over 2 inches of rain in less than one hour at some locations. In the city of Martinsburg, several streets were flooded, as were numerous basements.
The radar
The Sterling radar (KLWX), 71 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:29 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
- Rip Current in Alabama, July 30, 1996
- Rip Current in Florida, July 30, 1996
- Tornado in Colorado, July 30, 1996
- Hail in Colorado, July 30, 1996
- Damaging Wind in West Virginia, July 30, 1996
- Hail in Wyoming, July 30, 1996
- Tornado in Wyoming, July 30, 1996
- Lightning Strike in North Carolina, July 30, 1996
- Tornado in West Virginia, July 30, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Ohio, July 30, 1996
- Flash Flood in New York, July 30, 1996
- Tornado in West Virginia, July 30, 1996
More
Every storm in West Virginia in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, July 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: 5568033.