Hurricane Matthew tracked up the east coast October 7-9 producing mainly moderate rains across parts of the Blue Ridge and western piedmont counties in Virginia. 75 inches along and east of the mountains for the 24-hours ending 12z (0800 EST) on the 7th but much heavier amounts fell in the subsequent 24-hour period.
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.
Hurricane Matthew tracked up the east coast October 7-9 producing mainly moderate rains across parts of the Blue Ridge and western piedmont counties in Virginia. A leading pulse of rainfall occurred ahead of the main precipitation shield associated with the hurricane, with rainfall 0.25 to 0.75 inches along and east of the mountains for the 24-hours ending 12z (0800 EST) on the 7th but much heavier amounts fell in the subsequent 24-hour period. Widespread 2 to 4 inch rain amounts were observed in a swath across the parts of the southern VA piedmont into the Blue Ridge especially around Roanoke. The top five 24-hour gage reports included Boones Mill 3.4N CCR (VA-RN-8) 5.50 , Copper Hill 6.2S CCR (VA-FL-2) 4.70 , Roanoke IFLOWS (RONV2) 4.55 , Tinker Creek IFLOWS (TKSV2) 4.44 , and Mill Mountain IFLOWS (MLMV2) 4.40 . Rainfall from Matthew proper overspread the eastern portions of the area on the 8th with moderate to heavy rainfall east of a line from Stokes County, NC northeast to Amherst-Buckingham counties in Virginia with little falling west of that line. Radar-estimated amounts were up to 6 inches across parts of the lower Roanoke and Dan River basins although available rain gage reports were considerably generally lower, in the 3 to 4 inch range. Runoff from the rainfall pushed river stages into the minor to just above moderate category along portions of the lower Dan, lower Roanoke and Pigg rivers from early on October 9th until very early on the 10th.
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 Oct 8, 4:21 AM EST, 24 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Blacksburg VA 521 AM EDT Sat Oct 8 2016 .SYNOPSIS... A cold front will cross east through the Ohio Valley today and through the Mid Atlantic region tonight as Hurricane Matthew moves northeast along the Carolina coast. High pressure will build in Sunday and remain over the much of the eastern United States through Tuesday. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 445 AM EDT Saturday... The northwest edge of the large shield of precipitation associated with Hurricane Matthew had advanced into the foothills and Piedmont of Virginia and North Carolina. A cold front trailed from Lake Erie to Louisiana this morning. Rain extended from central New York into northeast Tennessee ahead of this boundary. Models were in good agreement that precipitation would gradually end from west to east today and tonight. Expect much of the area west of the Blue Ridge to be dry by this evening, with the rain exiting the piedmont by early Sunday morning. From 8AM today through 8AM Sunday rainfall amounts will be heaviest east of a Lynchburg to Martinsville line. The tropical air mass and warm rain process will lead to heavier rainfall in that area. Similar to Friday, clouds and precipitation will translate to only a small rise in temperatures today. Have stayed close to the MAV guidance which was just a few degrees above temperatures at 3AM. The cold front will cross through the area tonight leading in cooler and drier air. Surface points drop enough for temperatures to lower in the 40s in the mountains overnight. 850MB winds increase from the north into the 40 to 50 knot range tonight. Expecting the gusty winds to become more common at higher elevations behind the front late tonight. Wind gusts rise close to advisory criteria at the highest elevations from Grayson county into northwest North Carolina early Sunday morning. && .SHORT TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/... As of 330 AM EDT Saturday... Matthew will be looping away from the region on Sunday as low amplitude ridging builds over the eastern US and allows a large area of high pressure to move into the northeast through the first part of next week. This will yield a dry forecast for the Appalachians and central mid Atlantic region through the period. There will be a very tight pressure gradient between departing Matthew and the large high moving in from the west. This will generate very windy conditions, especially at the higher elevations from the mountains of NC into the southern Blue Ridge on Sunday. Guidance is not universal in mixing advisory criteria winds to the surface so will wait for later runs to assess potential for any wind advisories. The high will then wedge down the east side of the Appalachians on Monday and remain as such through Tuesday. Moisture fields indicate that it will be a dry wedge, so aside from keeping temperatures on the cool side there will be little associated sensible weather with the wedge. Lows will be quite chilly Sunday and Monday night with readings in the 30s expected form the Ridge westward, low to mid 40s to the east. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... As of 230 PM EDT Friday... During most of this portion of the forecast, a broad area of high pressure will extend from the Gulf Coast to New England. Limited cloud cover, very limited precipitation, and a warming trend to near/slightly above, normal temperatures expected. Guidance is hinting that two distinct shortwave troughs may move into and through the northern extent of the ridge, one on Thursday, and one on Friday. Each of these could have the potential for bringing some isolated showers into western parts of the area. Currently, the one slated for Friday looks have the best chance of bringing some isolated to scattered showers to parts of the area, and and overall trend towards increasing cloud cover for the whole region. && .AVIATION /09Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... As of 155 AM EDT Saturday... Radar showed areas of light to moderate rain over the Roanoke and New River valleys and over southeast West Virginia. The shield of precipitation around Hurricane Matthew was advancing northwest into northern North Carolina and southern Virginia. The precipitation over the mountains was gradually moving northwest and will be exiting the region by 18z. Widespread MVFR to IFR ceilings will remain in place until the hurricane moves farther north and the cold front in the Ohio Valley crosses the Mid-Atlantic region. Decent agreement in the models that ceilings would begin to lift after 18Z, generally from west to east with conditions improving to VFR after 00Z/8PM. Moderate confidence on this timing. Winds will increase in the afternoon and overnight in the foothills and piedmont of Virginia and North Carolina. Wind gusts up to 25 knots are possible at KDAN. Extended aviation discussion... For Sunday through Wednesday, models are keeping the area mainly dry, although this is subject to change pending the track of Matthew. Most models have Matthew circling off the southeast coast through the middle of next week. For the latest storm track forecast see the latest NHC Advisory for Matthew. && .RNK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VA...None. NC...None. WV...None. && SYNOPSIS...AMS NEAR TERM...AMS SHORT TERM...MBS LONG TERM...DS/MBS AVIATION...AMS/JH
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 1059 PM EDT FRI OCT 7 2016 NCZ001>006-018>020-VAZ011-013>020-022>024-032>035-043>047-058-059- WVZ044-507-508-090300- ASHE-ALLEGHANY NC-SURRY-STOKES-ROCKINGHAM-CASWELL-WATAUGA-WILKES- YADKIN-GILES-PULASKI-MONTGOMERY-GRAYSON-CARROLL-FLOYD-CRAIG- ALLEGHANY VA-BATH-ROANOKE-BOTETOURT-ROCKBRIDGE-PATRICK-FRANKLIN- BEDFORD-AMHERST-HENRY-PITTSYLVANIA-CAMPBELL-APPOMATTOX-BUCKINGHAM- HALIFAX-CHARLOTTE-MONROE-EASTERN GREENBRIER-WESTERN GREENBRIER- 1059 PM EDT FRI OCT 7 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA...NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...CENTRAL VIRGINIA...SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA...WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA AND SOUTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. PERIODS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL WILL OCCUR OVERNIGHT...ESPECIALLY ALONG AND EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE. THIS MAY RESULT IN LOCALIZED FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. THERE IS A LOW PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. VAZ007-009-010-012-WVZ042-043-090300- TAZEWELL-SMYTH-BLAND-WYTHE-MERCER-SUMMERS- 1059 PM EDT FRI OCT 7 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND SOUTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
449 AM EDT SAT OCT 08 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0445 AM FLOOD 2 ENE ROANOKE 37.29N 79.92W
10/08/2016 CITY OF ROANOKE VA TRAINED SPOTTER
MINOR FLOODING FROM TINKER CREEK AT MASON MILL ROAD AND
NORTH AVENUE
&&
MSPORERThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Minor flooding from Tinker Creek was reported near Mason Mill Road and North Avenue and along a portion of 13th Street NE.
Several roads were closed due to flooding north of Danville including Routes 727 and 728.
Numerous roads were closed due to flooding west of Chatham including Routes 821 and 703.
Numerous roads were closed in the vicinity of Gretna including Business Route 29 and Route 791.
Numerous roads were closed due to flooding north of Virgilina including Routes 602 and 604.
A sinkhole formed on Route 58 about 1 mile west of the Pittsylvania-Halifax County line due to the heavy rain.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Virginia in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, October 2016
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: 662597, 662598, 662599, 662600, 662601, 664080.