Flash Flood — Fayette, West Virginia

2022-08-15 · near Montgomery, Fayette, West Virginia

Event narrative

Water from an overflowing Smithers Creek spilled onto Cannelton Hollow Road in the town of Smithers. This resulted in extensive flooding of several homes and a few businesses located along Cannelton Hollow Road. Severe flooding was also observed in the Scrabble Creek area.

Wider weather episode

A narrow band of heavy rain fell across the I-64 corridor during the early morning hours of August 15th. The Charleston airport reported 4.33 inches of rain had fallen since the previous evening, with radar estimates ranging from 2 to 5 inches from Putnam to Fayette Counties. This was the result of a weak boundary tracking along an upper level disturbance, with an axis of showers and storms that propagated slowly eastward overnight. The Campbells Creek area of Kanawha County observed significant damage from flash flooding, with damage costs extending close to one million dollars. Flash flooding was also observed in the Scrabble Creek area of Fayette County. The Governor of West Virginia declared a State of Emergency for Kanawha and Fayette Counties due to the flooding, and recovery and clean up efforts spanned weeks after the event occurred.

Another round of showers and storms transpired on the afternoon of August 16th, which once again caused high water issues within Fayette County.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.1781, -81.3148)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1046340. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.