Flash Flood, Wetzel
- When
- May 16, 9:30 PM EST to May 17, 6:00 AM EST
- Where
- Wetzel County, Folsom
- Property damage
- $200,000
- Coordinates
- 39.605, -80.639 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in West Virginia, May 16 to 17, 1996
Route 2, south of New Martinsville, was flooded. Mudslides were also reported at Anderson Ridge, south of Kodol.
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
- $200,000
- 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 PBZ wrote it up.
Route 2, south of New Martinsville, was flooded. Mudslides were also reported at Anderson Ridge, south of Kodol. The most significant flash flooding occurred in the Folsum-Smithfield areas. As many as 70 houses and mobile homes sustained flood-related damages across the county and 10 to 12 of them were destroyed.
The radar
The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 109 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:32 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 West Virginia, May 16 to 17, 1996
- Flooding in Montana, May 16, 1996
- Flood in California, May 16, 1996
- Damaging Wind in North Dakota, May 16, 1996
- Damaging Wind in North Dakota, May 16, 1996
- Damaging Wind in North Dakota, May 16, 1996
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, May 16 to 17, 1996
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, May 16 to 17, 1996
- Flood in Utah, May 16, 1996
- Damaging Wind in North Dakota, May 16, 1996
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, May 16, 1996
- Flash Flood in Ohio, May 16, 1996
More
Every storm in West Virginia in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, May 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5555564.