A tropical air mass was in place, with a weak front north across Virginia. Southeast flow into the mountains and the frontal boundary set the stage for heavy rain producing showers and thunderstorms.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS RNK wrote it up.
A tropical air mass was in place, with a weak front north across Virginia. Southeast flow into the mountains and the frontal boundary set the stage for heavy rain producing showers and thunderstorms. Heavy rains across southern Wilkes County dumped close to 4 inches in a short amount of time. Flash flooding occurred across the Moravian, Hunting and Warrior creek basins...inundating roads and homes.
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 May 26, 2:22 AM EST, 38 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 322 AM EDT TUE MAY 26 2009 .SYNOPSIS... DEEP TROPICAL MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO STREAM NORTH INTO THE REGION THROUGH MIDWEEK. THIS IN COMBINATION WITH A WEAK FRONT TO THE NORTH WILL PRODUCE NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. DRIER WEATHER SHOULD MAKE A RETURN BEHIND A PASSING COLD FRONT OVER THE WEEKEND. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... MAIN CONCERN WITH THE HEAVY RAIN THREAT ACROSS THE REGION THRU THIS EVENING AS DEEP S/SE FETCH CONTINUES FROM OFF THE ATLANTIC AND A WEAK FRONT DIPS IN FROM THE NORTH. WILL INIT WITH HEAVIER RAIN ALONG THE SOUTHERN BLUE RIDGE/FOOTHILLS EARLY THIS MORNING WHERE A LEFTOVER BAND CONTINUES TO BE FED BY INSTABILITY SHRA TO THE SOUTH. SOME OF THIS MAY TRAIN UP INTO THE NEW RIVER VALLEY SO WILL NEED HIGH POPS THIS MORNING SW WITH MAINLY LOW CHANCE ELSEWHERE. ONCE THIS COVERAGE FADES...NEXT FAINT IMPULSE WILL START TO WORK NW FROM OFFSHORE BY AFTERNOON...AIDED BY STRONG RH TRANSPORT FROM THE STREAM AND WEAK UPPER DIFFLUENCE. ABOUT ALL GUIDANCE DEVELOP ANOTHER ROUND OF RATHER WIDESPREAD SHRA/TSRA ALONG/EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE AIDED BY WEAK CONVERGENCE AND A DECENT VEERING WITH HEIGHT PROFILE AHEAD OF THE BOUNDARY TO THE NORTH. SOUPY PWATS ALONG WITH BRIEF HEATING SHOULD AGAIN LEAD TO MORE HEAVY RAIN WITH AN INCREASING FLOOD THREAT IF THINGS ORGANIZE MORE. SINCE HEAVY RAIN IN THE EAST HAS BEEN SPORADIC...WILL HOLD OFF ON BLANKETING A LARGE AREA WITH A WATCH AND JUST INCLUDE HEAVY RAIN/ISOLATED FLOODING MENTION IN THE HWO. OTRW BUMPED POPS TO CATEGORICAL SW AND EAST THRU THIS EVENING WITH MAINLY CHANCE NW. GIVEN THE POTENTIAL TO SEE LESS SUN TODAY AND A LITTLE MORE EAST/NE WIND PIEDMONT...ADJUSTED HIGHS DOWN A LITTLE BUT STILL MAINLY MID/UPR 70S. IMPULSE PASSES THIS EVENING AS THE MAIN WEAK AREA OF LOW PRESSURE OFF THE SE COAST SNEAKS UP TO OFF THE CAROLINAS LATE. COULD AGAIN GET ANOTHER NOCTURNAL TYPE SHRA BAND SETUP ALONG THE BLUE RIDGE GIVEN DEEP SE-S FLOW...SO KEPT LIKELY POPS GOING SOUTH AND ACROSS THE NE THRU MORNING. OTRW ANOTHER WARM AND MUGGY NIGHT WITH LOWS MAINLY IN THE LOW/MID 60S. && .SHORT TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AND VERY MUGGY CONDITIONS. INCREASED POPS WEDNESDAY MORNING ALONG THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS. SCATTERED MORNING SHOWERS WILL BECOME MORE NUMEROUS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AS THE REMNANTS OF THE TROPICAL LOW DRIFTS EVER SO SLOWLY INTO THE OHIO VALLEY. STEERING FLOW DOES INCREASE SOME...THEREFORE STORMS WILL MOVE A LITTLE FASTER THAN THE PREVIOUS COUPLE OF DAYS. HOWEVER...TROPICAL-LIKE ATMOSPHERE WILL CONTINUE TO CARRY A FLASH FLOOD THREAT WITH PWATS REMAIN HIGH AND ABOVE NORMAL. WEDNESDAY HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL AVERAGE AROUND NORMAL...BUT WITH THE ELEVATED DEW POINTS...IT WILL SEEM WARMER THAN IT ACTUALLY IS. LEANED TOWARDS THE WARMER MAV GUID FOR HIGHS. OVERNIGHT LOWS WILL CONTINUE TO REMAIN MUGGY WITH READING 10-15F ABOVE NORMAL. LOWS WILL GENERALLY BE IN THE 60S. A LEE TROUGH AND APPROACHING COLD FRONT WILL RESULT A LINE OF CONVECTION WHICH WILL TRACK ACROSS THE REGION THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT. PLAYED HIGHS CLOSE TO MAV GUID WITH VALUES FROM UPPER 70S TO THE MID 80S. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/... THE FRONT COULD BE OUT OF THE AREA BY SUNRISE FRIDAY MORNING...WITH COOLER AND DRY CONDITIONS PREVAILING INTO THE WEEKEND. CAN NOT RULE OUT INCREASING POPS INTO THE WEEKEND AS THIS BOUNDARY COULD LIFT BACK INTO THE REGION WITH A SURFACE WAVE TRACKING ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST COASTAL STATES ON SATURDAY. FOR NOW...WILL KEEP POPS UNDER 20 PERCENT AND SEE HOW THINGS PROGRESS THROUGH THE WEEK. THE NOTICEABLE DIFFERENT IN TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE PERIOD WILL BE OVERNIGHT LOWS AND DEW POINTS DROPPING BACK TO NORMAL. DAY TIME HIGHS WILL CONTINUE TO HOVER AROUND NORMAL INTO NEXT WEEKEND. && .AVIATION /07Z TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE ACROSS THE BLUE RIDGE LATE TONIGHT AND EXPECT SEVERAL MORE HOURS OF THIS ACTIVITY. HARD TO SPECIFY THE EXACT LOCATION OF THESE SHOWERS BUT ARE OF LIMITED AREAL EXTENT AND ARE CONTINUING TO MOVE FROM THE SOUTH AT 10 TO 15 MPH. SHOWERS COULD BRIEFLY REDUCE VSBYS/CIGS TO MVFR/IFR BUT DO NOT EXPECT PROLONGED POOR CONDITIONS AT ANY ONE SITE. BULK OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL TAPER TO ISOLATED COVERAGE EARLY TUESDAY MORNING. HOWEVER CIGS WILL LIKELY LOWER TO MVFR AT TIMES OUTSIDE OF RAINFALL ESPCLY ACROSS THE NORTH TOWARD MORNING AS A WEAK FRONT TO THE NORTH SLIPS A BIT CLOSER. VSBYS WILL TREND TO MVFR IN SPOTS DUE TO FOG BY LATE TONIGHT INTO EARLY MONDAY MORNING. SHOWERS WILL BE ON THE INCREASE ONCE AGAIN BY LATE TUESDAY MORNING AS ANOTHER WEAK IMPULSE APPROACHES FROM THE SE. CIG/VSBY CATEGORIES WILL IMPROVE TO MVFR/VFR BY LATE MORNING BUT POOR CONDITIONS MAY PERSIST ALONG/EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE INTO THE AFTERNOON. MODELS ALSO SHOW THE POTENTIAL BEST COVERAGE OF SHOWERS IN THE EAST DURING THE AFTERNOON SO INCLUDING A PREVAILING MENTION EASTERN SITES AND VICINITY IN THE WEST. SHOWERS SHOULD AGAIN TAPER OFF LATER TUESDAY NIGHT WITH MORE LOW CLOUDS/FOG LIKELY INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY. WE WILL REMAIN IN A WET PATTERN THROUGH THE UPCOMING WEEK WITH PERIODS OF INCREASED CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION. PROLONGED PERIODS OF SUB-VFR CIGS/VSBYS ARE EXPECTED ESPCLY THRU THURSDAY BEFORE SOME DRYING DEVELOPS BEHIND A PASSING COLD FRONT FOR THE END OF THE WEEK INTO SATURDAY. && .HYDROLOGY... HIT AND MISS TROPICAL TYPE SHOWERS PRODUCED POCKETS OF MODERATELY HEAVY RAINFALL OVER PORTIONS OF MAINLY THE WESTERN CWA THE LAST 6 HOURS OR...GENERALLY IN THE 1 TO 2 INCH RANGE ON RADAR AND RAIN GAGES. THE SPORADIC COVERAGE WAS NOT NEARLY ENOUGH TO CAUSE NOTICEABLE RISES ON THE LARGER RIVERS AND STREAMS. QPF IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS PER HPC IN THE 0.50 TO 0.75 INCH RANGE WHICH WILL AGAIN BE SPORADIC IN COVERAGE. && .RNK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VA...NONE. NC...NONE. WV...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...JH/RCS NEAR TERM...JH SHORT TERM...KK LONG TERM...RCS AVIATION...JH/PC HYDROLOGY...
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 346 AM EDT TUE MAY 26 2009 VAZ007-009>011-WVZ042>045-270800- TAZEWELL-SMYTH-BLAND-GILES-MERCER-SUMMERS-MONROE-GREENBRIER- 346 AM EDT TUE MAY 26 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND SOUTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. HOWEVER RAINFALL FROM SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE HEAVY...AND COULD CAUSE ISOLATED FLOODING THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. NCZ001-002-018-VAZ012>020-022>024-270800- ASHE-ALLEGHANY NC-WATAUGA-WYTHE-PULASKI-MONTGOMERY-GRAYSON-CARROLL- FLOYD-CRAIG-ALLEGHANY VA-BATH-ROANOKE-BOTETOURT-ROCKBRIDGE- 346 AM EDT TUE MAY 26 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. HOWEVER RAINFALL FROM SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE HEAVY...AND COULD CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING OF LOW LYING AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS THIS THROUGH THIS EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. NCZ003>006-019-020-VAZ032>035-043>047-058-059-270800- SURRY-STOKES-ROCKINGHAM-CASWELL-WILKES-YADKIN-PATRICK-FRANKLIN- BEDFORD-AMHERST-HENRY-PITTSYLVANIA-CAMPBELL-APPOMATTOX-BUCKINGHAM- HALIFAX-CHARLOTTE- 346 AM EDT TUE MAY 26 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA...NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...CENTRAL VIRGINIA...SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. HOWEVER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAINFALL...AND MAY BE ENOUGH TO CAUSE FLOODING THROUGH TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
101 AM EDT TUE MAY 26 2009
NCZ019-260715-
WILKES NC-
101 AM EDT TUE MAY 26 2009
...CLUSTERS OF SHOWERS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL AFFECT
WILKES COUNTY...
AT 158 AM EDT...SHOWERS WITH PERSISTENT VERY HEAVY WERE LOCATED OVER
SOUTHERN WILKES COUNTY...MOVING NORTH AT 15 MPH.
VERY HEAVY RAIN WILL FALL FROM THESE SHOWERS...AND WILL CAUSE WATER
TO POND ON ROADS AND QUICKLY FILL ROADSIDE DITCHES AND SMALL
STREAMS. ANOTHER ONE TO PERHAPS TWO INCHES OF RAIN COULD FALL IN
SPOTS THROUGH 3:30 AM.
THE HEAVIEST SHOWERS WILL BE NEAR MORAVIAN FALLS AROUND 205
AM...WILKESBORO AROUND 220 AM...CRICKET...AND BUCK AROUND 225
AM...NORTH WILKESBORO AROUND 230 AM...FAIRPLAINS...AND MILLERS CREEK
AROUND 235 AM AND CLINGMAN AROUND 240 AM.
LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET FOR LATER
UPDATES OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
LAT...LON 3602 8111 3602 8121 3633 8131 3640 8104
3637 8102 3637 8099 3640 8096 3632 8087
3625 8088 3614 8087 3604 8092 3605 8100
3601 8108
EXPERIMENTAL
JHThe Roanoke radar (KFCX), 139 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:58 UTC.
5 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Warrior Creek flooded State Route 18, 2 miles southwest of Boomer.
Brier Creek flooded and washed out Mathis Farm Road.
The West Prong of Moravian Creek flooded and washed out part of Russell Gap Road, southeast of Boomer.
Moravian Creek flooded and closed Germantown Road near Moravian Falls, and School Street in Wilkesboro. Twenty-seven people were evacuated from their homes along Moravian Creek, near Germantown Road, and six mobile homes were destroyed. Wilkesboro Community College received damage from the flooding of Moravian Creek. The grounds were heavily damaged, as was several buildings. The flooded creek eventually led to the collapse of a 150 foot long, 20 foot wide section of U.S. Highway 421 East exit ramp lane in Wilkesboro, which occurred during the early morning of May 27th. Monetary damages include this road collapse.
State Route 115 was flooded by Hunting Creek, as was Lewis Church Road, which is about 2 to 3 miles south of Windy Gap. Lewis Church Road was partially washed out.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, May 2009
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: 172710, 172711, 172712, 172713, 172717.