Flash Flood, Jefferson
- When
- January 8, 8:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Jefferson County, Countywide
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 39.308, -77.863 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in West Virginia, January 8, 1998
Unseasonably warm and humid air combined with developing low pressure over the Ohio Valley to produce bands of heavy rain across portions of the eastern panhandle. The combination of tropical rainfall, saturated soil (due to recent snow melt) and time of year led to flash flooding of several small streams, creeks, and low lying areas.
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
- $5,000
- 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.
Unseasonably warm and humid air combined with developing low pressure over the Ohio Valley to produce bands of heavy rain across portions of the eastern panhandle. The combination of tropical rainfall, saturated soil (due to recent snow melt) and time of year led to flash flooding of several small streams, creeks, and low lying areas. In Jefferson Co, several secondary roads were closed due to high water, and many creeks were at or just above bankful. A portion of federal highway 340 was closed briefly just west of Harpers Ferry. Rainfall totals in the affected area ranged from 2 to 3 inches.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
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
- Tornado and Flooding in West Virginia, January 8 to 11, 1998
- Ice Storm in New York, January 8, 1998
- Flash Flooding in New York, January 8 to 9, 1998
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, January 8, 1998
- Flooding in New York, January 8 to 12, 1998
- Flash Flood in Mississippi, January 8, 1998
- Flooding in New York, January 8 to 11, 1998
- Damaging Winds in North Carolina, January 8, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Ohio, January 8 to 11, 1998
- Flash Flooding in Virginia, January 8, 1998
- Flash Flood in New York, January 8 to 9, 1998
- Flash Flood in New York, January 8 to 10, 1998
More
Every storm in West Virginia in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, January 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5628070.