West Virginia, 2001

Flash Flood and Heavy Rain in West Virginia, August 4, 2001

August 4, 2001 · NWS LWX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Slow moving thunderstorms with heavy rainfall crossed the eastern panhandle between 3 and 7 PM EDT on the 4th. In Grant County, radar estimated over 2 inches of rain fell near Patterson and Lunice Creeks between Moorfield and Petersburg in only 90 minutes.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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.

Slow moving thunderstorms with heavy rainfall crossed the eastern panhandle between 3 and 7 PM EDT on the 4th. In Grant County, radar estimated over 2 inches of rain fell near Patterson and Lunice Creeks between Moorfield and Petersburg in only 90 minutes. Fast moving water downed a tree onto Patterson Creek. Flooding was reported on Morgantown Road (Route 42). In Morgan County, nearly 2 inches of rain fell in 90 minutes. A rock and mud slide was reported on Route 9 one half mile west of Berkeley Springs.

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 Aug 4, 1:38 PM EST, 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 4, 1:38 PM EST, 50 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
238 PM EDT SAT AUG 4 2001

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WITH SOME LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN THIS EVENING
SHOULD GRADUALLY END AS SUN GOES DOWN. MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW
GRADUAL DISSAPATION OF UPPER AND SURFACE THROUGH OVER CWA INTO
SUNDAY.

MAJOR FEATURE IS LARGE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE BUILDING INTO AREA THIS
WEEK WITH 850 MB TEMPS EXCEEDING 18 DEG C EACH DAY. COLD FRONT
APPROACHES BY MID WEEK BUT MODELS KEEP IT TO NORTH. RESULT IS MORE
WESTERLY FLOW MID WEEK AND HOT TEMPS. AFTERNOON HEAT INDEXES LIKELY
FROM 100 TO 105 WITH HEAT AND HUMIDITY.

WILL CONTIUE TO WATCH THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING. SO FAR ONLY ABOUT
1 INCH IN 1 HOUR FROM A FEW. WITH FF GUIDANCE GENERALLY ABOUT 2
INCHES AN HOUR AND 3 TO 4 INCHES IN 3 HOURS WILL BE OKAY AS LONG AS
THEY KEEP MOVING.

FCSTID = 1
DCA   69  89  71  93 /  30  10  10  10
BWI   67  89  69  92 /  30  10  10  10
MRB   65  88  67  91 /  40  10  10  10
IAD   67  88  68  92 /  30  10  10  10
CHO   67  88  69  93 /  30  10  10  10
HGR   65  88  66  91 /  40  10  10  10
NHK   69  89  70  92 /  30  10  10  10
W99   65  88  66  90 /  40  10  10  10

.LWX...
DC...NONE.
MD...NONE.
VA...NONE.
WV...NONE.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 4, 2:15 PM EST, 13 minutes before
MDZ002-VAZ021-025>027-WVZ048>050-054-055-042200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON
315 PM EDT SAT AUG 4 2001

...THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN OVER WESTERN MARYLAND
AND EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA...

AT 315 PM DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED CLUSTERS OF SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS
OVER EXTREME WESTERN MARYLAND AND THE EASTERN PANHANDLE OF WEST
VIRGINIA. COUNTIES PRIMARILY AFFECTED WERE ALLEGANY COUNTY MARYLAND
AS WELL AS MINERAL GRANT HAMPSHIRE AND HARDY COUNTIES IN WEST
VIRGINIA. A FLASH FLOOD WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR GRANT COUNTY
VALID UNTIL 615 PM.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE DRIFTING TOWARD THE SOUTH AT 10 TO 15 MPH.
RADAR PRECIPITATION ESTIMATES SHOWED POTENTIAL RAINFALL RATES IN
EXCESS OF 2 INCHES PER HOUR. THIS WAS OCCURING IN SOME AREAS SUCH AS
ALLEGANY COUNTY THAT RECEIVED HEAVY RAINS OVERNIGHT. LOCALIZED
FLOODING OF SMALL STREAMS CREEKS ROADWAYS AND OTHER LOW LYING AREAS
IS A POSSIBILITY. RESIDENTS AND MOTORISTS SHOULD AVOID FLOOD PRONE
AREAS AND SEEK HIGHER GROUND.

THUNDERSTORMS MAY AFFECT THESE AND OTHER SURROUNDING COUNTIES
THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS.
STAY TUNED TO THE LATEST FORECASTS AND BULLETINS FROM THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE.

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 148 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:26 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Grant

When
August 4, 2:28 PM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where
Grant County, Countywide
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.105, -79.196 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flooding was reported on Route 42.

Heavy Rain, Morgan

When
August 4, 3:00 PM EST to 5:30 PM EST
Where
Morgan County, Countywide
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.560, -78.258 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A rock slide was reported on Route 9.

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.
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

More

Every storm in West Virginia in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, 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: 5265459, 5265532.