Flash Flood in Virginia, September 3, 2002

Name: Flash Flood in Virginia, September 3, 2002
Start: 2002-09-03T16:15
End: 2002-09-03T16:45
Location: Virginia

September 3, 2002 · NWS RNK · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Thunderstorms rains on the 3rd washed out a gravel road and flooded and closed several roads 8 miles northeast of Amherst.

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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
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 RNK wrote it up.

Thunderstorms rains on the 3rd washed out a gravel road and flooded and closed several roads 8 miles northeast of Amherst.

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 Sep 3, 2:10 PM EST, 2 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 3, 2:10 PM EST, 2 hours 5 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG, VA
310 PM EDT TUE SEP 3 2002

AWIPS PROBLEMS EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON.

KFCX 88D SHOWED A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON...
MAINLY ALONG AND WEST OF THE BLUE RIDGE MTNS. MSAS LIS WERE MINUS 4
TO MINUS 7 WITH CAPES ARD 1K TO 2K. ELECTED TO ADD MENTION OF SHWRS/T
FOR TONIGHT IN FOOTHILL GROUPING AND WESTERN PORTIONS OF FA.
COLD FRONT WILL DROP SOUTH THRU FA WED-WED NITE. TIMING OF FEATURE
STILL SLOWEST ON THE ETA SOLUTION COMPARED TO REST. IT HINTS THAT
THE FRONT DROPS/JUMPS INTO PREFRONTAL TROF. IN ANY CASE...MOISTURE
COULD BE LIMITED...ESPECIALLY WITH WESTERLY FLOW. DECIDE THAT THERE
WAS ENOUGH INSTABILITY TO HOLD ON TO OUR LIGHT POPS. THIS SHOULD
BLEND NICELY WITH ISC EASTERN CLUSTER. HIGH PRESSURE WILL PROVIDE US
WITH A COOLER DAY ON THURSDAY. DRY EXTENDED PERIOD...WITH SFC HIGH
PRESSURE RESIDING OVER REGION.

TROPICAL GUIDANCE SHOWS BETTER AGREEMENT WITH FCST TRACK OF EDOUARD
TODAY...IN GENERAL FROM THE NRN FL PENINSULA FRI AND CONTINUING WWRD
OVER NRN GULF OF MEXICO THEREAFTER. SEE NHC ADVISORIES FOR THE
LATEST POSITION AND TRACK.

ZONES WILL BE OUT BEFORE 4 PM.

FCSTID =    7
PRELIMINARY NUMBERS
ROA   67  90  64  85 /  20  30  20   0
LYH   65  89  63  84 /  20  30  20   0
DAN   66  92  65  85 /  10  30  30  10
BLF   64  82  59  79 /  20  30  10   0
LWB   60  82  55  79 /  20  30  10   0
BCB   63  85  60  81 /  20  30  20   0
TNB   63  83  60  80 /  20  30  30  10

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

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 119 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:17 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Amherst

When: September 3, 4:15 PM EST to 4:45 PM EST
Where: Amherst County, 8 mi NE of Amherst
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.605, -79.145 (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, September 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: 5317752.