Flash Flood, Dickenson
- When
- July 25, 11:00 AM EST to 1:00 PM EST
- Where
- Dickenson County, 1.07 mi SSE of Darwin to 1.28 mi SSE of Darwin
- Cause
- Heavy Rain
- Property damage
- $2,000
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
- Coordinates
- 37.086, -82.492
Flash Flood in Virginia, July 25, 2011
A cluster of late morning showers and thunderstorms caused local rain amounts around 3 inches in a few hours across portions of Dickenson County. The usual ponding of water and overflowing ditch lines occurred in various locations throughout the county.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $2,000
- 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 RLX wrote it up.
A cluster of late morning showers and thunderstorms caused local rain amounts around 3 inches in a few hours across portions of Dickenson County. The usual ponding of water and overflowing ditch lines occurred in various locations throughout the county. However, near the Wise County border, the headwaters of the Cranes Nest River quickly flooded and closed portions of Route 72 south of Darwin. The nearby feeder streams and runs also overflowed. However, no structures were affected. Later that day, and further down the river, a river gauge rose nearly 10 feet and crested at 12.9 feet. This was just below the 13 foot bank full level.
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 Charleston, WV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 25, 3:14 AM EST, 7 hours 46 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 25, 3:14 AM EST, 7 hours 46 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 414 AM EDT MON JUL 25 2011 .SYNOPSIS... A COLD FRONT CROSSES THE AREA LATE TODAY AND TONIGHT. HIGH PRESSURE PASSES TUE THROUGH WED...BRINGING A SLIGHT REPRIEVE FROM THE HEAT. THE HEAT BUILDS AGAIN THE BALANCE OF THE WORK WEEK. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... ANOTHER WARM HUMID DAY ON TAP...HOWEVER...SOME SLIGHT RELIEF...I.E. A LITTLE LESS HUMIDITY...IS IN STORE IN THE NEAR FUTURE. A COLD FRONT WILL GRADUALLY SAG SOUTHEAST TOWARDS THE REGION TODAY. AS IT DOES SO...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL ONCE AGAIN DEVELOP ACROSS THE REGION IN THE WARM...HUMID...AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS IN PLACE. AS IN PREVIOUS DAYS...HEAVY RAIN IS EXPECTED WITH ANY STORMS THAT DEVELOP DUE TO OVERALL LIGHT FLOW...AND HIGH PW VALUES...ONCE AGAIN RANGING BETWEEN 1.8 TO 2 INCHES...OR ABOUT 2 STANDARD DEVIATIONS ABOVE NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. ALTHOUGH IT WILL BE CONTINUED HOT AND HUMID...INCREASED CLOUD COVER AND SHOWER/STORM ACTIVITY ACROSS THE REGION SHOULD HELP TO KEEP MAX TEMPS DOWN A FEW DEGREES FROM PREVIOUS DAYS...AND THUS...NO HEAT HEADLINES ARE EXPECTED TODAY. IN ADDITION...NOT EXPECTING ANY ORGANIZED SEVERE CONVECTION TODAY...AS BETTER DYNAMICS SHOULD REMAIN TO OUR NORTH IN ASSOCIATION WITH A MID LEVEL JET...AND SUFFICIENT CLOUD COVER SHOULD HELP TO LIMIT POTENTIAL. COLD FRONT IS PROGGED TO CLEAR THE CWA LATE IN NEAR TERM. BEHIND THE FRONT...HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD INTO THE REGION...WITH CLEARING EXPECTED MAINLY OVER NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ZONES. STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY WITH HOW MUCH CLEARING WILL TAKE PLACE OVER MTN ZONES OVERNIGHT...AND ELECTED TO KEEP SOME CLOUD COVER IN THERE OVERNIGHT. ELSEWHERE...WHERE CLEARING DOES TAKE PLACE AM EXPECTING FOG DEVELOPMENT TOMORROW MORNING. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/... NAM12 HAS BACKED OFF ITS IDEA OF NOT PUSHING COLD FRONT COMPLETELY THROUGH THE AREA TUE. LAST OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE EXITS MOUNTAINS AND / OR JUST MIXES OUT FROM N TO S FIRST THING TUE MORNING. WNW FLOW ALOFT BACKS TO ZONAL WED AND WED NT...WITH UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING IN THU. IN THE MEANTIME...SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE ARRIVING BEHIND THE COLD FRONT PASSES BY THE AREA TUE THROUGH WED...GIVING WAY TO LIGHT SW FLOW ON ITS BACK SIDE THU. SNEAKING INTO THE MIX IS A SECOND...WEAK COLD FRONT THAT APPROACHES THE AREA FROM THE N TUE NT...BEFORE HIGH PRESSURE BRIDGES ACROSS IT FOR WED. THINK ANY CONVECTION WITH THIS FRONT SHOULD BE JUST N OF THE AREA TUE NT. THE RESULT OTHERWISE IS DRY WEATHER THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH A SLIGHT BUT WELCOME RELIEF FROM THE HEAT AND MORE SO THE HUMIDITY TUE. THE HEAT BUILDS WED THROUGH THU AS HEIGHTS BUILD AND...BY THU...LOW LEVEL SW FLOW BECOMES ESTABLISHED. DAY TO DAY DEW POINT RECOVERY IS SLOWER THROUGH THU. THEREFORE...DO NOT QUITE YET SEE HEAT ADV CRITERIA. BLENDED IN ONE OF MORE OF ADJMET...ADJMAV AND CONSENSUS MOS TO ADJUST TEMPERATURES. OVERALL EFFECT WAS TO WIDEN DIURNAL RANGES A BIT. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... SNUCK IN SMALL INCREASE FOR HIGHS FRI AS IT SHOULD BE AT LEAST AS HOT AS THU. THIS RAISES APPARENT TEMPERATURES A BIT...BUT STILL KEEPS PEAK VALUES TUCKED IN JUST BELOW 100F. PREV DISCN... WENT WITH A MIX OF THE GFS AND ECMWF FOR THE LONG TERM FORECAST. HEAT RETURNS MID NEXT WEEK AS THE RIDGE MOVES THROUGH OUR AREA. RELIEF FROM THE DRY WEATHER AND HEAT ARRIVES ON SATURDAY AS A COLD FRONT SWEEPS THROUGH THE REGION. RAIN AND STORMS WILL DOMINATE THE DAY ON SATURDAY...WITH THE RAIN MOVING OFF TO THE SOUTH SATURDAY NIGHT. MAY SEE A FEW LINGERING SHOWERS SUNDAY MORNING IN THE SOUTHERN PARTS OF THE CWA. TEMPS ON SUNDAY WILL STILL BE HOT WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 80S AND LOW 90S FOR MUCH OF THE REGION. && .AVIATION /07Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... EXPECTING WIDESPREAD MVFR CONDITIONS TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT WITH ISOLD IFR IN FOG. OTHERWISE...RETURNING MAINLY TO VFR CONDS AFTER 13Z. HOWEVER...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BEGIN TO INCREASE ACROSS THE REGION AFTER 12Z AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NORTH. THIS FRONT WILL ENTER CENTRAL/SOUTHEAST OHIO AROUND 15Z...CENTRAL WV AROUND 00Z TUESDAY...AND EXIT THE MOUNTAINS OF WV 06-09Z. EXPECT HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND BRIEF MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS IN VICINITY OF SHOWERS/STORMS. CLEARING FROM NORTH TO SOUTH WILL TAKE PLACE AFTER 21Z BEHIND THE FRONT. STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY AS TO HOW MUCH CLEARING WILL OCCUR OVER THE MOUNTAINS...BUT ANY AREAS THAT ARE ABLE TO CLEAR...ESPECIALLY NORTH AND CENTRAL AREAS...ARE LIKELY TO SEE WIDESPREAD IFR/LIFR FOG DEVELOPMENT...MAINLY AFTER 06Z. FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND ALTERNATE SCENARIOS THROUGH 06Z TUESDAY... FORECAST CONFIDENCE: MEDIUM ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: CLEARING MAY NOT OCCUR QUICKLY ENOUGH TONIGHT FOR WIDESPREAD FOG DEVELOPMENT. EXPERIMENTAL TABLE OF FLIGHT CATEGORY OBJECTIVELY SHOWS CONSISTENCY OF WFO FORECAST TO AVAILABLE MODEL INFORMATION: H = HIGH: TAF CONSISTENT WITH ALL MODELS OR ALL BUT ONE MODEL. M = MEDIUM: TAF HAS VARYING LEVEL OF CONSISTENCY WITH MODELS. L = LOW: TAF INCONSISTENT WITH ALL MODELS OR ALL BUT ONE MODEL. DATE MON 07/25/11 UTC 1HRLY 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 EDT 1HRLY 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 CRW CONSISTENCY L L M L M M M L H H H H HTS CONSISTENCY M L L M M M M M L H H H BKW CONSISTENCY H M M M M L L L M L H H EKN CONSISTENCY M L L L M M M L M M H H PKB CONSISTENCY L L L L M M M M M H H H CKB CONSISTENCY L L M M M M M M L L H H AFTER 06Z TUESDAY... IFR FOG POSSIBLE TUESDAY MORNING DEPENDING UPON EXTENT OF CLEARING. && .RLX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WV...NONE. OH...NONE. KY...NONE. VA...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...TRM/SL NEAR TERM...SL SHORT TERM...TRM LONG TERM...JEE/TRM AVIATION...SL
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 25, 3:38 AM EST, 7 hours 22 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 438 AM EDT MON JUL 25 2011 KYZ101>103-105-OHZ066-067-075-076-083>087-VAZ003-004-WVZ005>011- 013>020-024>040-046-047-260845- GREENUP-CARTER-BOYD-LAWRENCE-PERRY-MORGAN-ATHENS-WASHINGTON-JACKSON- VINTON-MEIGS-GALLIA-DICKENSON-BUCHANAN-WAYNE-CABELL-MASON-WOOD- PLEASANTS-TYLER-LINCOLN-PUTNAM-KANAWHA-ROANE-WIRT-CALHOUN-RITCHIE- DODDRIDGE-MINGO-LOGAN-BOONE-CLAY-BRAXTON-GILMER-LEWIS-HARRISON- TAYLOR-MCDOWELL-WYOMING-RALEIGH-FAYETTE-NICHOLAS-WEBSTER-UPSHUR- BARBOUR-POCAHONTAS-RANDOLPH- 438 AM EDT MON JUL 25 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST KENTUCKY...SOUTHEAST OHIO...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND MUCH OF WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 25, 6:20 AM EST, 4 hours 40 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
720 AM EDT MON JUL 25 2011
WVZ020-028>032-038>040-046-047-251245-
BARBOUR WV-BRAXTON WV-DODDRIDGE WV-GILMER WV-HARRISON WV-LEWIS WV-
POCAHONTAS WV-RANDOLPH WV-TAYLOR WV-UPSHUR WV-WEBSTER WV-
720 AM EDT MON JUL 25 2011
...A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY DOWNPOURS WILL AFFECT
BARBOUR...EASTERN DODDRIDGE...EASTERN GILMER...HARRISON...
LEWIS...NORTHEASTERN BRAXTON...NORTHEASTERN POCAHONTAS...
NORTHEASTERN WEBSTER...RANDOLPH...TAYLOR AND UPSHUR COUNTIES...
AT 715 AM EDT...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALONG A LINE FROM 7 MILES
SOUTH OF FAIRMONT TO 9 MILES NORTHEAST OF WESTON TO 11 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF WESTON...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.
VERY HEAVY RAIN WILL FALL FROM THESE STORMS...AND WILL CAUSE WATER
TO POND ON ROADS AND QUICKLY FILL ROADSIDE DITCHES AND SMALL
STREAMS. WIND GUSTS TO 30 MPH ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.
THESE STORMS WILL BE NEAR GALLOWAY AROUND 730 AM...THORNTON AROUND
745 AM...KANAWHA HEAD AROUND 800 AM...TALLMANSVILLE AROUND 815 AM...
ELLAMORE AROUND 830 AM AND KERENS AROUND 845 AM.
THIS WILL IMPACT THE FOLLOWING INTERSTATE...I-79 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS
73 AND 129.
EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE ELEVATED LEVELS ON
SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS...AND PONDING OF WATER ON COUNTRY ROADS AND
FARMLAND ALONG THE BANKS OF CREEKS AND STREAMS.
IN HILLY TERRAIN THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF LOW WATER CROSSINGS WHICH ARE
POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS IN HEAVY RAIN. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TRAVEL ACROSS
FLOODED ROADS. FIND ALTERNATE ROUTES. IT TAKES ONLY A FEW INCHES OF
SWIFTLY FLOWING WATER TO CARRY VEHICLES AWAY.
PLEASE REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BY
CALLING TOLL FREE...877-633-6772...WHEN YOU CAN DO SO SAFELY.
LAT...LON 3892 7938 3893 7945 3889 7946 3889 7951
3879 7950 3865 7962 3843 7968 3837 7973
3885 8085 3945 8053 3947 8049 3939 8008
3946 7995 3945 7990 3930 7989 3924 7981
3913 7983 3908 7977 3904 7977 3896 7934
13The radar
The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 92 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:58 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Hail and Damaging Winds in New York, July 25, 2011
- Heavy Rain in Washington, July 25, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, July 25, 2011
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Virginia, July 25, 2011
- Lightning Strikes in Georgia, July 25, 2011
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, July 25, 2011
- Damaging Winds in Virginia, July 25, 2011
- Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, July 25, 2011
- Damaging Wind in South Carolina, July 25, 2011
- Flood in Pennsylvania, July 25, 2011
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, July 25, 2011
- Hail in Minnesota, July 25, 2011
More
Every storm in Virginia in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, July 2011
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: 322896.