Virginia, 2016

Coastal Flood in Virginia, January 23, 2016

January 23, 2016 · NWS AKQ · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A combination of low pressure moving from the southeast United States northeast and just off the Atlantic Coast, and high pressure over southeast Canada produced very strong onshore winds across the Mid-Atlantic. The strength and duration of the onshore winds produced moderate coastal flooding along the Atlantic Coast and Chesapeake Bay.

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 AKQ wrote it up.

A combination of low pressure moving from the southeast United States northeast and just off the Atlantic Coast, and high pressure over southeast Canada produced very strong onshore winds across the Mid-Atlantic. The strength and duration of the onshore winds produced moderate coastal flooding along the Atlantic Coast and Chesapeake Bay.

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 Wakefield, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 23, 4:17 AM EST, 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 23, 4:17 AM EST, 43 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 23, 4:44 AM EST, 16 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 23, 3:13 AM EST, 1 hour 47 minutes before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 coastal flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Coastal Flood, Virginia Beach

When
January 23, 5:00 AM EST to 10:15 PM EST
Where
Virginia Beach forecast zone
Reported by
C-MAN Station
Coordinates
36.738, -76.005 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A tidal departure of 2.5 to 3.5 feet resulted in moderate coastal flooding along the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay. The peak water level at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel was 5.72 feet at 606 am on January 23.

What these are

Coastal Flood
Flooding of coastal land by the sea, from storm surge, onshore wind or high tides.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Virginia in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, January 2016

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 616324.