Flash Flood in Virginia, April 17, 2002

Name: Flash Flood in Virginia, April 17, 2002
Start: 2002-04-17T21:30
End: 2002-04-17T21:45
Location: Virginia

April 17, 2002 · NWS MRX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Several roads across the northeastern part of the county, including Tumbling Creek Road, Lindell Road, and Hayters Road, were under water in places.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $5,000
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 MRX wrote it up.

Several roads across the northeastern part of the county, including Tumbling Creek Road, Lindell Road, and Hayters Road, were under water in places.

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 Morristown, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 17, 8:01 PM EST, 1 hour 29 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 17, 8:01 PM EST, 1 hour 29 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
901 PM EDT WED APR 17 2002

IN THE SHORT-TERM...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE OVER SOUTHWEST
VIRGINIA AND NORTHEAST TENNESSEE WITH HEAVY RAINS BEING ESTIMATED
OVER WASHINGTON COUNTY...VIRGINIA. HAVE ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING
WITH NEARLY 3 INCHES OF RAIN ESTIMATED BY RADAR.  THIS AREA OF STORMS
HAS BACK BUILD DURING THE PAST 2-3 HOURS AIDED ALONG WITH DIVERGENCE
ALOFT.

MID LEVEL VORTICITY CENTER CONTINUES TO MOVE TOWARD THE FORECAST
AREA...BUT CONVECTION COVERAGE ASSOCIATED WITH SYSTEM IS BECOMING
LESS. MESO-ETA SHOWS UPPER DIV WEAKENING TONIGHT WITH AIRMASS
ALREADY BECOMING LESS UNSTABLE WITH LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING.

PLAN ON BACKING POPS DOWN MOST LOCATIONS FOR REST OF TONIGHT GIVEN
WEAKENING DYNAMICS WITH MVC AND LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING.  ALSO...
CHANGE SKY WORDING FROM MOSTLY CLOUDY TO PARTLY CLOUDY.  SOME LOCALLY
DENSE FOG POSSIBLE WHERE RAIN OCCURRED THIS EVENING.

.MRX...
NC...NONE.
TN...NONE.
VA...NONE.

DH

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 143 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:27 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Washington

When: April 17, 9:30 PM EST to 9:45 PM EST
Where: Washington County, Northeast Portion
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.725, -81.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

Every storm in Virginia in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Virginia, April 2002

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: 5289925.