Heavy Rain — Lynchburg (c), Virginia

2023-04-27 to 2023-04-28 · near Blue Ridge Farms, Lynchburg (c), Virginia

Event narrative

A personal weather station (Weather Underground: KVALYNCH121) recorded a 14-rainfall amount of 3.80 inches. This is about a 10-year (10% AEP) Average Recurrence Interval event per NOAA Atlas 14 Point Precipitation Frequency estimates. Rainfall rates increased to around 2 inches per hour shortly after 9 AM EDT on the 28th, just as the cold front moved across the area. Runoff from this location flows into Ivy Creek.

Wider weather episode

Widespread rainfall associated with a deep low pressure system and associated cold front occurred across the Piedmont region from late in the evening on the 27th through late morning on the 28th. A Strong southerly flow of wind allowed precipitable water values during the early morning hours of the 28th to increase to around 1.3 inches across portions of the Piedmont, which is between the 75th and the 99th percentile for the end of April. While this rainfall was mostly beneficial given the antecedent dryness, Ivy Creek in the western part of the City of Lynchburg was observed overflowing its banks due to 3.5 to nearly 4.5 inches of rainfall across nearly the entire basin. Rainfall rates were generally below 0.5'/hr through most of the event, however these increased to as high as 2'/hr just ahead of the passage of a cold front on the morning of the 28th. The flooded creek caused only minor damage to Peaks View Park, mainly in the form of cleanup of mud and small debris.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.4280, -79.2060)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1096792. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.