Heavy Rain, Cabell
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Cabell forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.420, -82.242 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain in West Virginia, May 1 to 31, 2001
The month started with emerging drought conditions. By the 9th, the USGS reported record low water flows for the date at Kanawha Falls on the upper Kanawha River.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 10 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
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 14
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 RLX wrote it up.
The month started with emerging drought conditions. By the 9th, the USGS reported record low water flows for the date at Kanawha Falls on the upper Kanawha River. By the end of the second week, grass was turning brown. A complete reversal took place during the third and fourth weeks. Showers and thunderstorms were frequent, as northwest to southeast frontal zones stalled in the vicinity. Mullens of Wyoming County had a monthly rain total of 11.4 inches. Dry Creek of Raleigh County had 10.9 inches. Camden on Gauley had 10.5 inches, the National Weather Service Office, south of downtown Charleston, had 10 inches, while Tornado of Kanawha County had 9.6 inches. The 8.8 inches at Charleston's airport was the wettest May on record. RD Bailey Lake elevation in Wyoming County rose to 1086 feet, or 51 feet above summer pool, in the wet pattern. The Corps of Engineers reported forty acres of trash had collected behind the dam. FEMA declaration 1378 originated as a result of the flooding during this month.
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 Charleston, WV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 30, 8:05 PM EST, 3 hours 55 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 30, 8:05 PM EST, 3 hours 55 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 905 PM EDT MON APR 30 2001 CONVECTION DISSIPATING WITH LOSS OF HEATING. WILL TAKE OUT EVENING THUNDERSTORMS IN THE SOUTH AND LEAVE REST OF FORECAST PACKAGE AS IS...IE MOSTLY CLEAR OVERNIGHT. .RLX... WV...NONE. VA...NONE. KY...NONE. OH...NONE. .END/JMV
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
14 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Rain, Boone
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Boone forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.023, -81.711 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Clay
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Clay forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.463, -81.075 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Fayette
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Fayette forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
Heavy Rain, Jackson
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Jackson forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.835, -81.675 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Kanawha
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Kanawha forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.337, -81.528 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Lincoln
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Lincoln forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.175, -82.070 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Mason
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Mason forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.770, -82.026 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Nicholas
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Nicholas forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
Heavy Rain, Putnam
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Putnam forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.509, -81.909 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Raleigh
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Raleigh forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
Heavy Rain, Wayne
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Wayne forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.146, -82.427 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Webster
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Webster forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
Heavy Rain, Wyoming
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Wyoming forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 37.610, -81.549 (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
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, May 1, 2001
- Drought in Florida, May 1 to 20, 2001
- Tornado and Hail in Wisconsin, May 1, 2001
- Flooding in Wisconsin, May 1 to 18, 2001
- Flooding in Minnesota, May 1 to 16, 2001
- Flooding in Iowa, May 1 to 9, 2001
- Flooding in Iowa, May 1 to 18, 2001
- High Wind in California, May 1 to 2, 2001
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Iowa, May 1 to 2, 2001
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, May 1, 2001
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, May 1, 2001
- Drought in North Carolina, May 1 to 31, 2001
More
Every storm in West Virginia in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, May 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: 5244955, 5244956, 5244957, 5244958, 5244959, 5244960, 5244961, 5244962, 5245819, 5245820, 5245821, 5245822, 5245823, 5245824.