West Virginia, 2019

Flash Flooding in West Virginia, July 21 to 22, 2019

July 21 to 22, 2019 · NWS RLX · 8 events in 7 counties and zones

In a hot and humid air mass, showers and thunderstorms formed the afternoons of the 21st and 22nd. With limited upper level flow, these storms were slow moving and led to flash flooding.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$71,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
8

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.

In a hot and humid air mass, showers and thunderstorms formed the afternoons of the 21st and 22nd. With limited upper level flow, these storms were slow moving and led to flash flooding.

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 21, 3:26 PM EST, 29 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 21, 3:26 PM EST, 29 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 21, 4:00 AM EST, 11 hours 55 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Charleston WV
500 AM EDT Sun Jul 21 2019

WVZ519-520-522>524-526-220900-
Northwest Nicholas-Southeast Nicholas-Southeast Webster-
Northwest Pocahontas-Southeast Pocahontas-Southeast Randolph-
500 AM EDT Sun Jul 21 2019

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of northeast West
Virginia and southeast West Virginia.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight.

Hazardous weather is not expected at this time.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday.

There is a slight risk of excessive rainfall on Monday and Monday
night.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather
conditions by calling the toll-free spotter hotline, or by other
methods detailed at www.weather.gov/rlx/reports.

KYZ101>103-105-OHZ085>087-WVZ005>011-013>020-027>032-039-040-521-525-
220900-
Greenup-Carter-Boyd-Lawrence KY-Meigs-Gallia-Lawrence OH-Wayne-
Cabell-Mason-Jackson WV-Wood-Pleasants-Tyler-Lincoln-Putnam-Kanawha-
Roane-Wirt-Calhoun-Ritchie-Doddridge-Clay-Braxton-Gilmer-Lewis-
Harrison-Taylor-Upshur-Barbour-Northwest Webster-Northwest Randolph-
500 AM EDT Sun Jul 21 2019

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for northeast Kentucky, portions
of southeast Ohio, and portions of central West Virginia, northeast
West Virginia, northern West Virginia, southern West Virginia and
western West Virginia.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight.

There is a marginal risk of severe thunderstorms today and early
tonight.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday.

There is a slight risk of excessive rainfall on Monday and Monday
night.

There is a marginal risk of severe thunderstorms Monday and Monday
night.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather
conditions by calling the toll-free spotter hotline, or by other
methods detailed at www.weather.gov/rlx/reports.

OHZ066-067-075-076-083-084-220900-
Perry-Morgan-Athens-Washington-Jackson OH-Vinton-
500 AM EDT Sun Jul 21 2019

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of southeast Ohio.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight.

There is a marginal risk of severe thunderstorms today and early
tonight.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday.

There is a marginal risk of severe thunderstorms Monday and Monday
night.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather
conditions by calling the toll-free spotter hotline, or by other
methods detailed at www.weather.gov/rlx/reports.

VAZ003-004-WVZ024>026-033-034-515>518-220900-
Dickenson-Buchanan-Mingo-Logan-Boone-McDowell-Wyoming-
Northwest Raleigh-Southeast Raleigh-Northwest Fayette-
Southeast Fayette-
500 AM EDT Sun Jul 21 2019

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for southwest Virginia, and
portions of southeast West Virginia and southern West Virginia.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight.

Hazardous weather is not expected at this time.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday.

There is a slight risk of excessive rainfall on Monday and Monday
night.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather
conditions by calling the toll-free spotter hotline, or by other
methods detailed at www.weather.gov/rlx/reports.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 21, 2:21 PM EST, 1 hour 34 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jul 21, 2:44 PM EST, 1 hour 11 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Jul 21, 2:50 PM EST, 1 hour 5 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Jul 21, 3:00 PM EST, 55 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Jul 21, 3:06 PM EST, 49 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Jul 21, 3:47 PM EST, 8 minutes before
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The radar

The Charleston,WV radar (KRLX), 69 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:54 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Clay

When
July 21, 3:55 PM EST to 5:30 PM EST
Where
Clay County, 1 mi WSW of Hallburg to 1.3 mi SSE of Rouzer
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
911 Call Center
Coordinates
38.615, -81.037

Numerous roads were flooded in Clay County, including multiple sections of Route 16 due to high water on creeks and streams feeding into the Elk River. The most flooding was between Clay and Ivydale.

Flash Flood, Ritchie

When
July 22, 4:04 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Ritchie County, 1.74 mi NNE of Nutters Farm to 2.02 mi ESE of Highland
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$60,000
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
39.252, -81.204

Multiple roads were closed between Cairo and Harrisville due to flooding. One of the worst hit areas was along Pugh Hill Road where 6 homes were damaged along Addis Run and Sugarcamp Run.

Flash Flood, Lincoln

When
July 22, 6:24 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Lincoln County, 0.94 mi NNW of Harts to 1 mi E of Fry
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
38.043, -82.134

Route 10 flooded due to high water on the Guyandotte River and its feeder streams. A nearby mesonet station measured 2.8 inches of rain for the day.

Flash Flood, Cabell

When
July 22, 6:30 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Cabell County, 0.28 mi SSW of West Huntington to 1.63 mi SSW of West Huntington
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
911 Call Center
Coordinates
38.416, -82.473

The viaducts in Huntington flooded.

Flash Flood, Wayne

When
July 22, 6:40 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Wayne County, 1.25 mi N of Shoals to 0.4 mi SSE of Spring Vly
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
911 Call Center
Coordinates
38.338, -82.470

Camp Creek flooded, closing a section of Camp Creek Road near Rote 152.

Flash Flood, Boone

When
July 22, 6:48 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Boone County, 3.39 mi E of Turtle Creek to 2.21 mi E of North Fork
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
38.027, -81.908

Harmon Branch and Sanders Branch flooded, closing a section of North Fork Road.

Flash Flood, Boone

When
July 22, 8:20 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Boone County, 0.83 mi WSW of Madison to 1.83 mi NNE of Price Hill
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
38.064, -81.843

Flooding along Spruce Fork closed a section of Route 17 south of Madison. Other minor street flooding also occurred in Madison. A nearby mesonet station measured 2.7 inches of rain for the day.

Flash Flood, Logan

When
July 22, 8:36 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where
Logan County, 1.09 mi E of Shamrock to 1.19 mi S of Aracoma
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
37.830, -82.000

Island Creek flooded, closing a section of Route 44 near the Wilkinson Post Office.

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

More

Every storm in West Virginia in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, July 2019

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: 839651, 839653, 839659, 839661, 839666, 839668, 839671, 839681.