Flash Flood, Surry
- When
- August 19, 10:15 PM EST to 11:45 PM EST
- Where
- Surry County, Mt Airy
- Property damage
- $35,000
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 36.415, -80.687 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in North Carolina, August 19, 2001
Heavy thunderstorm rains during the evening of the 19th caused the Ararat River to flood Riverside Park and Riverside Drive in Mount Airy. Several houses were flooded and one house had several feet of water in it, with the residents evacuated.
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
- $35,000
- 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 RNK wrote it up.
Heavy thunderstorm rains during the evening of the 19th caused the Ararat River to flood Riverside Park and Riverside Drive in Mount Airy. Several houses were flooded and one house had several feet of water in it, with the residents evacuated. One Road was washed out.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 19, 6:45 PM EST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 19, 6:45 PM EST, 3 hours 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG, VA 745 PM EDT SUN AUG 19 2001 WILL ISSUE AN UPDATE TO REMOVE SEVERE WEATHER WATCH FROM SOUTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA. ALSO...WILL REMOVE ENHANCED THUNDERSTORM WORDING FROM ZONES. UPDATE WILL BE OUT ARD 8 PM. HAVE A GOOD NIGHT. FCSTID = 7 ROA 66 85 61 85 / 30 30 10 10 LYH 65 85 62 85 / 30 30 10 10 DAN 69 88 65 86 / 30 30 10 10 BLF 62 75 57 77 / 40 30 10 10 LWB 57 74 55 76 / 40 30 10 10 BCB 62 79 58 78 / 40 10 10 10 TNB 63 77 58 77 / 40 10 10 10 .RNK... NC...NONE. VA...NONE. WV...NONE.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 19, 7:45 PM EST, 2 hours 30 minutes before
NCZ002>004-019-020-VAZ013>017-022-032-033-200146- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 845 PM EDT SUN AUG 19 2001 ...THUNDERSTORMS WITH GUSTY WINDS... A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS HAS DEVELOPED OVER THE NEW RIVER VALLEY. AT 8:45 PM...THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN A LINE FROM RADFORD TO GALAX VIRGINIA...AND EXTENDED SOUTHWEST TO NEAR SPARTA NORTH CAROLINA. THE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR...AND MAY CONTAIN WIND GUSTS TO 40 MILES AN HOUR...ALONG WITH SMALL HAIL. THESE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE THROUGH CHRISTIANSBURG... FLOYD...FANCY GAP...AND MOUNT AIRY BEFORE 10:00 PM. 11
Special weather statement, Aug 19, 9:44 PM EST, 31 minutes before
NCZ003-004-020-VAZ024-032>035-043>047-200345- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 1044 PM EDT SUN AUG 19 2001 A LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MAKE ITS WAY ACROSS THE FOOTHILLS...AND PIEDMONT OF VIRGINIA...AND NORTH CAROLINA THROUGH MIDNIGHT. THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL AFFECT PATRICK...SURRY...AND STOKES COUNTY WITH UP TO TWO INCHES OF RAIN IN AN HOUR...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND GUSTY WINDS THROUGH 1130 PM. HEAVY RAIN WILL ALSO FALL OVER AMHERST...NORTHERN BEDFORD AND SOUTHERN ROCKBRIDGE COUNTIES DURING THIS TIME. IF A STORM APPROACHES YOUR AREA...SEEK SHELTER INSIDE A STURDY BUILDING AND AVOID ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES. IF YOU ARE TRAVELING...BE ALERT TO PONDED WATER ON THE ROADS. WHP
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
- Wildfire in California, August 19 to 29, 2001
- Tornado and Hail in Pennsylvania, August 19, 2001
- Wildfire in Montana, August 19, 2001
- Tornado in Pennsylvania, August 19, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, August 19, 2001
- Tornado and Hail in Michigan, August 19, 2001
- Damaging Winds in New York, August 19, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, August 19, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Kentucky, August 19, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, August 19, 2001
- High Wind in Florida, August 19, 2001
- Lightning Strike in Florida, August 19, 2001
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, August 2001
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: 5265792.