Name: Flash Flooding in Virginia, July 25 to 26, 2002
Start: 2002-07-25T23:15
End: 2002-07-26T00:30
Location: Virginia

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: $915,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 RNK wrote it up.

Thunderstorms during the late evening of the 25th and the early morning of the 26th produced significant flash flooding in Pearisburg and especially in Pembroke in Giles County. In Pearisburg numerous roads were flooded with several washed away. Damage was done to four businesses and several residences. In Pembroke, Doe Creek flooded numerous residences with eight businesses reporting water damage. This included a tire business that was completely destroyed and an auto dealership which suffered significant damage. Flash flooding also damaged the hotel at Mountain Lake.

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 Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 25, 8:08 PM EST, 3 hours 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 25, 8:08 PM EST, 3 hours 7 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG, VA
908 PM EDT THU JUL 25 2002

00Z RNK SOUNDING N/A THIS EVE DUE TO SONDE FAILURE.

RADAR SHOWING SHRA/TSRA SLOW TO GIVE UP AGAIN THIS EVE...EVEN WITH
LOSS OF HEATING PER SOUPY ATMOS IN PLACE N OF SFC BNDRY. EXPECT THIS
ALONG WITH OLD BNDRYS ARND AND WEAK APCHG S/W TROF TO PROVIDE SOME
FOCUS FOR CONTG A CHCY POP ESPCLY WEST/SOUTH OVRNGT. IN
ADDITION...MAY SEE WEAK UPSLOPE/GOOD VEERING ALOFT CONT SOME -SHRA
ERN SLOPES AT LEAST EARLY ON. ONLY EXCEPTION PSBLY FAR NE CTYS WHERE
A LTL MORE STAB COMBO WITH WEAK DOWNSLOPE ALOFT SHOULD ACT TO KEEP
ANY CVRG ISOLD. OTRW PC/MSTLY CLDY WITH INCLUSION OF SOME FOG
MENTION AGAIN TNGT SINCE ALRDY STARTING OFF WITH 3-5 VSBYS IN MOST
SPOTS ATTM. GOING TEMPS GNRLY ON TRACK AND EXPECT ONLY SMALL CHANGES
IN UPDATE.

JH

---------------------------------------------------------------------
PREVIOUS DISC BELOW:

ONE MORE NIGHT OF DEEP MOISTR AND HIGH POPS BEFORE WAVE TRACKING
ACROSS THE NORTHERN TIER SWEEPS THRU AND TAKES BULK OF MOISTR OUT TO
SEA.  NEXT WAVE COMING IN OVER THE RIDGE EARLY SAT MAY BRING MCS
INTO WESTERN SECTIONS OF THE FA...HOWEVER WILL ASSUME DOWNSLP AND
DAYTIME MIXING WILL KILL IT BEFORE IT MAKES IT EAST OF THE MTNS.

BERMUDA TYPE SFC HIGH TAKES HOLD LATE IN THE WEEKAND AND EARLY NEXT
WEEK...WITH LTL CHC OF PCPN.  HOT..DRY WESTERLY FLOW WILL TRY TO
FEND OFF A FRONT COMING THRU ON TUESDAY...THEN TROFFING BEGINS TO
REDEVELOP OVER THE NE LATE IN THE WEEK.  STILL SEE NO REASON TO ADD
CHC IN THE EXTENDED.  WILL KEEP IT DRY FOR NOW.

FCSTID =
ROA   68  84  71  93 /  50  40  20  20
LYH   68  84  71  92 /  50  40  20  20
DAN   71  86  72  93 /  60  40  20  20
BLF   66  77  66  84 /  50  40  20  30
LWB   64  77  64  82 /  50  40  20  30
BCB   66  81  66  87 /  50  40  20  30
TNB   64  79  65  84 /  60  40  20  20

.RNK...
NC...NONE.
VA...NONE.
WV...NONE.

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 50 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:17 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Giles

When: July 25, 11:15 PM EST to July 26, 12:30 AM EST
Where: Giles County, Pearisburg
Property damage: $150,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 37.314, -80.704 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Giles

When: July 25, 11:15 PM EST to July 26, 12:30 AM EST
Where: Giles County, Pembroke
Property damage: $750,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 37.314, -80.704 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Giles

When: July 25, 11:15 PM EST to July 26, 12:30 AM EST
Where: Giles County, Mountain Lake
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.314, -80.704 (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

More

Every storm in Virginia in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Virginia, July 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: 5306563, 5306564, 5306565.