Flood, Washington
- When
- May 20, 8:35 PM EST to 9:15 PM EST
- Where
- Washington County, 5 mi NW of Damascus
- Coordinates
- 36.725, -81.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood in Virginia, May 20, 1998
Much of Route 58 between Damascus and the community of Osceola covered by water. In many places the water is up to 2 feet deep.
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 MRX wrote it up.
Much of Route 58 between Damascus and the community of Osceola covered by water. In many places the water is up to 2 feet deep. Most roads and highways in and around Damascus covered by water. Laurel Creek reported well out of its banks. Delmar Road in Damascus closed due to a mudslide. A couple of small mudslides along Route 91 near Damascus. One lane of county road 722 off state route 58 near Osceola closed due to a mudslide.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Hail in Iowa, May 20, 1998
- Lightning Strike in Nebraska, May 20, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Indiana, May 20, 1998
- Lightning Strike in West Virginia, May 20, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kentucky, May 20, 1998
- Tornado in Nebraska, May 20, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 20 to 21, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, May 20, 1998
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Oklahoma, May 20, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, May 20, 1998
- Hail in Nebraska, May 20, 1998
- Drought in Louisiana, May 20 to 31, 1998
More
Every storm in Virginia in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, May 1998
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: 5644364.