Flooding in Virginia, September 19 to 20, 2003

Name: Flooding in Virginia, September 19 to 20, 2003
Start: 2003-09-19T05:30
End: 2003-09-20T16:30
Location: Virginia

September 19 to 20, 2003 · NWS RNK · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

5 feet above flood stage around 4 PM on the 19th. The Roanoke River at Randolph crested about 2 feet over flood stage around 315 AM on the 20th.

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: None recorded
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.

The remnants of hurricane Isabel produced heavy rainfall on the 18th that resulted in minor flooding on on the Roanoke River and up to moderate flooding on the James River.The James River at Bremo Bluff crested 7.5 feet above flood stage around 4 PM on the 19th. The Roanoke River at Randolph crested about 2 feet over flood stage around 315 AM on the 20th.

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 19, 2:29 AM EST, 3 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 19, 2:29 AM EST, 3 hours 1 minute before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG, VA
329 AM EDT FRI SEP 19 2003

ISABEL IS PULLING AWAY MORE QUICKLY THAN FCST. CENTER OF THE SFC LOW
LOOKED TO BE MOVG INTO AUGUSTA CO. SRN EDGE OF THE RAIN IS
DIMINISHING RAPIDLY. THINK THERE WILL BE A PERIOD OF RAIN CONTG
EARLY THIS MORN IN SE WV IN THE WRAPAROUND. HAVE SPED UP THE TIMING
OF THE ENDING OF PCPN ACROSS THE FA. WILL HAVE NO MENTION IN SRN
ZONES. WITH A SW-W WIND TODAY..SHUD SEE CLRNG EAST OF THE MTNS. P
SUNNY IN THE MTNS- EXCEPT COULD STAY M CLDY SE WV ZONES. RAISED
TEMPS A FEW DEGS EAST OF THE MTNS TO GO ALONG WITH MAV MOS. FNT
APPCHES THE FA TONITE AND BECOMES STNRY ACROSS THE MTNS SATURDAY.
WITH STNRY FNT IN PLACE STILL SUNDAY...AND BOTH ETA AND GFS SHOWING
A SHORT WAVE PASSING ACROSS THE MTNS- THOUGH WITH TIMING
DOFFERENCES...HAVE ADDED A CHC/SLIGHT CHC POP FOR SUN AFT /EVE TIME
FRAME. MADE NO CHANGES BEYOND SUN NIGHT. 00Z GFS HAS SPED UP THE TUE
FNT TO MORE OF A MON NIGHT TIME FRAME...BUT OTHER MODELS REMAIN
SLOWER.

FCSTID =    6
ROA   80  58  79  58 /  40  10  10  10
LYH   80  56  81  59 /  10  10  10  10
DAN   84  59  84  61 /  10  10  10  10
BLF   72  55  73  51 /  70  10  10   0
LWB   72  51  73  50 /  70  10  10  10
BCB   77  54  76  54 /  40  10  10   0
TNB   72  52  71  51 /  10  10  10   0

.RNK...
NC...NONE.

VA...NONE.

WV...NONE.

06

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Buckingham

When: September 19, 5:30 AM EST to September 20, 4:30 PM EST
Where: Buckingham forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 37.572, -78.529 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Halifax

When: September 19, 1:15 PM EST to September 20, 3:15 AM EST
Where: Halifax forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 36.767, -78.937 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Charlotte

When: September 19, 1:15 PM EST to September 20, 3:15 AM EST
Where: Charlotte forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 37.012, -78.662 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

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

Every storm in Virginia in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Virginia, September 2003

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: 5337749, 5337750, 5337751.