Flooding in West Virginia, July 31, 1996

Name: Flooding in West Virginia, July 31, 1996
Start: 1996-07-31T10:00
End: 1996-07-31T23:59
Location: West Virginia

July 31, 1996 · NWS PBZ · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

The Cheat River went out of its banks and flooded low-lying areas, roads, and a town park in Rowlesburg. The river crested between 2 and 3 feet above flood stage at Parsons and Rowlesburg.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $2,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

The Cheat River went out of its banks and flooded low-lying areas, roads, and a town park in Rowlesburg. The river crested between 2 and 3 feet above flood stage at Parsons and Rowlesburg. The river went below flood stage early in the morning August 1st.

Event by event

2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Preston

When: July 31, 10:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Preston forecast zone
Property damage: $1,000

Flood, Tucker

When: July 31, 10:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Tucker forecast zone
Property damage: $1,000

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in West Virginia in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5574742, 5574743.