Flash Flood — Lynchburg (c), Virginia

2023-07-13 · near Lyh Ivy Hill Arpt, Lynchburg (c), Virginia

Event narrative

A tributary of Blackwater Creek was observed overflowing its banks and flowing across Greenwood Drive at least 6 inches deep. No damage was reported to the roadway, and it was passable to traffic after the flooding receded.

Wider weather episode

Upper level low pressure was centered over Hudson Bay to start the day on the 13th, with generally zonal west to east flow from the central Plains through the Mid-Atlantic. A slow-moving cold front was draped across the Ohio River Valley. Early in the day, an upper level disturbance embedded in the upper level windflow was observed crossing southern Ohio and West Virginia, reaching central Virginia during the afternoon. Thunderstorm activity increased in an environment of surface-based CAPEs climbing to around 3,000 J/Kg, while precipitable water values climbed into the 1.7 to 1.9 inch range by early evening. A series of thunderstorms passed across the City of Lynchburg and northern Campbell County during the evening, producing 3 to locally 6 inch per hour rainfall rates. The first storm passed across Lynchburg shortly after 4 pm, with additional rounds arriving at 6 pm, 7 pm and 9 pm. Each round brought 1 to 3 inches of rain to the city, depending on location. CREST Unit Streamflows rising over 1,000 cfs per mi^2. FLASH Average Recurrence Intervals maxed out at over a 200-year rainfall event at the 6-hour duration.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.3885, -79.1950)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1127205. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.