Flood — Randolph, West Virginia

2022-05-07 · near Mill Creek, Randolph, West Virginia

Event narrative

The Tygart River near the town of Mill Creek rose above its 11 foot bankfull level on the morning of May 7th, crested at 12.14 feet, then returned to its banks late that night. Water spilled onto County Road 39 while the river was out of its banks.

Wider weather episode

A slow moving low pressure system, along with plenty of moisture, allowed for showers and thunderstorms to gradually move through the Ohio Valley during the day on May 6th. Heavy rainfall occurred with these storms and additional storm and shower activity developed over the same areas. A swath of 3 to 4 inches of rain fell in a narrow corridor from Huntington northeastward to Elkins, with a few isolated pockets of 4 to 5 reported. This led to considerable flash flooding. A few stronger storms also developed, one of which led to an area of tree damage in Randolph County.

Multiple water rescues took place throughout the Metro Valley, including a man who was swept away while working on his tractor in Cabell County. Additionally, several vehicles were submerged in flood waters and over one hundred homes were impacted by high water with the hardest hit area being the Enslow Park community of Huntington. Flooding occurred across many roadways throughout West Virginia, leaving multiple roads impassable for a time until the water receded.

Even after the rain had concluded, several rivers in the state rose out of their banks for the next several days. This resulted in flooding along areas adjacent to the rivers.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.7336, -79.9610)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1022888. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.