Heavy Rain in Virginia, July 26, 2001

Name: Heavy Rain in Virginia, July 26, 2001
Start: 2001-07-26T13:00
End: 2001-07-26T19:00
Location: Virginia

July 26, 2001 · NWS LWX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Storms with heavy rainfall crossed a portion of northern Virginia between 2 and 8 PM EDT on the 26th. 40 inches.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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.

Storms with heavy rainfall crossed a portion of northern Virginia between 2 and 8 PM EDT on the 26th. In Madison County, a spotter reported a total of 2.40 inches. In Stafford County, 3.88 inches was recorded just northeast of Fredericksburg. Route 624 was closed by flooding. In Prince William County, 4.5 inches fell in Woodbridge. In Dale City, Neabsco Creek overflowed onto Route 1 between Blackburn and Neabsco Roads closing the busy highway for hours. The creek overflowed onto Route 1 because debris clogged the watery's passage under the bridge. One car dealership on Route 1 and several other businesses reported flood damage. A total of 2.50 inches was reported in Canova and 3.45 inches fell at Quantico Marine Corps Base. Minor flooding occurred along Route 234 near Lake Jackson where 2.04 inches was recorded. In southeast Fairfax County, a total of 4.79 inches was recorded in the Mt. Vernon area.

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 Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 26, 9:00 AM EST, 4 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 26, 9:00 AM EST, 4 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
1000 AM EDT THU JUL 26 2001

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVING THROUGH WESTERN HALF OF CWA AT
TIME... AND SHOULD BE INTO THE METRO AREAS WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF
HOURS. SURFACE FRONT ALONG THE MD/PA BORDER AT TIME... AND PRECIP
EXTENDING ALONG THE FRONT WESTWARD THROUGH WV AND INTO OHIO PER
KRLX/KPBZ RADAR. OHP FIELDS SHOWING MOSTLY 1/4 TO 1/2 INCH PER HOUR
IN THE STRONGEST CELLS.

06Z ETA AND 12Z RUC BOTH BRING FRONT SLOWLY THROUGH THE AREA TODAY
AND THIS EVENING. 12Z IAD SOUNDING SHOWING PW VALUES OVER 2
INCHES... AND INGREDIENTS IN PLACE FOR SOME HEAVY RAINS. FLASH FLOOD
WATCH IN EFFECT FOR AREASALONG AND WEST OF THE BLUE RIDGE... WHERE
SOME LOCATIONS SAW SOME MODERATE RAINFALL YESTERDAY. EAST HAS BEEN
PRETTY DRY THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS... AND APPEARS TO BE ABLE TO
HANDLE A GOOD SOAKING WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS.

GOING FORECAST HAS A GOOD HANDLE ON THE SITUATION. WILL BE ISSUING
AN UPDATE AROUND 1015 AM TO JUST TWEAK THE WORDING A LITTLE BIT.

.LWX...
DC...NONE.
MD...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THURSDAY FOR ZONES MDZ002>003.
VA...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THURSDAY FOR ZONES
VAZ021...VAZ025>031...VAZ036>039.
WV...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THURSDAY FOR ZONES WVZ048>055.

MARGRAF!

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Madison

When: July 26, 1:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Madison County, Countywide
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.414, -78.279 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Stafford

When: July 26, 1:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Stafford County, Countywide
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.421, -77.457 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Prince William

When: July 26, 1:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Prince William County, Countywide
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.702, -77.478 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Fairfax

When: July 26, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Fairfax County, Southeast Portion
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.835, -77.276 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Virginia in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Virginia, July 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: 5259166, 5259167, 5259168, 5259169.