West Virginia, 2001

Flash Flood and Winter Storm in West Virginia, March 21 to 22, 2001

March 21 to 22, 2001 · NWS LWX · 10 events in 8 counties and zones

A Nor'easter moved from the North Carolina Coast to New England from the 20th to the 22nd. As it passed by the Mid Atlantic region, it dropped heavy precipitation between midnight and mid afternoon on the 21st.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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
$50,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
10

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.

A Nor'easter moved from the North Carolina Coast to New England from the 20th to the 22nd. As it passed by the Mid Atlantic region, it dropped heavy precipitation between midnight and mid afternoon on the 21st. Across Berkeley, Jefferson, Hampshire, and Hardy Counties, the precipitation fell mainly in the form of rain and ranged from 0.75 inches to 2.00 inches. In Hampshire County, heavy rainfall temporarily flooded Kemp Road near Augusta. In Berkeley County, heavy rainfall from across the region ran off into creeks and rivers, causing minor flooding. On the 22nd, Opequon Creek near Martinsburg reached its flood stage of 10 feet at 4:45 AM. The creek crested at 10.58 feet at 8:30 AM then fell below flood stage at 12:15 PM. In Morgan County, a rain/snow mix was reported. Capon State Park reported 2.7 inches of snow accumulation. Across the higher terrain of Mineral, Grant, and Pendleton Counties, the precipitation fell as mainly snow. Snow accumulations varied greatly from the mountain ridges in the western portion of the counties to the valleys across the east. Along the Allegany Front, between 6 and 14 inches of snow accumulated. East of the ridges, snowfall totals ranged from 2 to 6 inches. After the precipitation ended on the 21st, northwest winds increased to between 25 and 45 MPH. A wind gust of 43 MPH was recorded at the Martinsburg Airport. In Martinsburg, the high winds were blamed for tipping a rooftop television tower onto a power line. Contact between the tower and the power line resulted in sparks which set the house ablaze and caused extensive damage.

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 Mar 20, 9:45 PM EST, 2 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 20, 9:45 PM EST, 2 hours 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
945 PM EST TUE MAR 20 2001

12Z MDLS/18Z ETA/OBSVD DATA ALL IN LN W/ GOING FCST. ZFP UPDT WL
LRGLY BE TO FRSHN WRDG AS PCPN HAS DVLPD...OR WL IN NXT HR.

MOST IMPRESSIVE ITEM NOT ALREADY COVERED WL BE THE WND. 50+ KT H9
JET PROGGED TO WRAP ARND WELL STACKED SYSTM OFF CAPE HATTERAS BY
21/12Z. THIS LLJ WL BE SWEEPING ACRS CWFA DURING THE DAY TMRW.  AM
REAL TEMPTED TO ISSUE 2ND PD WND ADVSRY. ONLY CATCH IS STBL MARINE
FLW NOT BEST ENVIRONMENT FOR MIXING...BUT STRGTH OF LO SHUD
COMPENSATE FOR THAT. WL DEFER TO NXT SHIFT.

UPDTD PRODUCTS PRBLY OUT BY 1030-ISH. GNGT

.LWX...
DC...NONE.
MD...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY FOR MDZ002.
     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY FOR MDZ003.

VA...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY FOR VAZ021
     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY FOR
     VAZ025>031...VAZ036>040.

WV...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY FOR
     WVZ048...WVZ049...WV054
     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY FOR
     WVZ050>053...WVZ055.

MARINE...SCA ALL WATERS.

HTS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 winter storm, 3 heavy rain, 1 winter weather, 1 strong wind, 1 flash flood, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Pendleton

When
March 21, 12:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Pendleton forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Grant

When
March 21, 12:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Grant forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Mineral

When
March 21, 12:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Mineral forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Weather, Morgan

When
March 21, 12:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Morgan forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.560, -78.258 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Hardy

When
March 21, 12:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Hardy County, Countywide
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.008, -78.858 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Berkeley

When
March 21, 12:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Berkeley County, Countywide
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.464, -78.027 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Jefferson

When
March 21, 12:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Jefferson County, Countywide
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.308, -77.863 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Berkeley

When
March 21, 7:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where
Berkeley forecast zone
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.464, -78.027 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Hampshire

When
March 21, 10:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where
Hampshire County, Countywide
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.317, -78.614 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Berkeley

When
March 22, 4:45 AM EST to 12:15 PM EST
Where
Berkeley forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
39.464, -78.027 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Opequon Creek near Martinsburg crested about one half foot above flood stage.

What these are

Winter Storm
A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.
Heavy Rain
Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
Strong Wind
Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
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.
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

More

Every storm in West Virginia in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, March 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: 5239947, 5239948, 5239949, 5239950, 5239952, 5239953, 5239954, 5239955, 5239951, 5239956.