Flood — Fayette, West Virginia

2023-02-16 to 2023-02-17 · near Long Branch, Fayette, West Virginia

Event narrative

Continuous rounds of rain led to prolonged flooding around the Pax area. High water was first observed on the evening of February 16th along Packs Branch Road and portions of Paint Creek Road. The next morning, Paint Creek remained out of its banks and continued to spill onto Paint Creek Road. A vehicle drove into the flooded road and was swept away along with an infant. Local authorities later found the infant had drowned.

Wider weather episode

A stationary front located near West Virginia on the morning of February 16th acted as a link between two low pressure systems streaming north and south of the area. Early morning thunderstorms promoted locally heavy rain, with a second round taking place later that evening as the front made eastward progress.

Prolonged periods of rain led to flooding across the central and southern portions of the state. Most notable impacts from flooding occurred in Milton, where over one hundred homes observed basement flooding and high water surrounding the neighborhood. One to three inches of rain fell during this time, maintaining saturated conditions and flooding concerns on February 17th and into the next day before the floodwaters began to recede.

In Fayette County, an infant passed away due to a car being swept away from fast moving water near Paint Creek.

Several rivers rose above their banks in the midst of the event, including parts of the Mud River, Coal River, and Guyandotte River.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.9142, -81.2703)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1074584. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.