Flash Flood — Taylor, West Virginia

2023-08-29 · near Coffman, Taylor, West Virginia

Event narrative

In the Grafton area, two roads were temporarily closed as a result of high water. These included Yates Avenue and Newlon Street near the Northwestern Turnpike.

Wider weather episode

After major flash flooding took place across parts of the state the day before, additional flash flooding occurred on the afternoon of August 29th in Harrison County. Showers and a few embedded thunderstorms passed through parts of north central West Virginia as sufficient tropical moisture festered over the area. This led to locally very heavy rainfall in parts of Harrison and Taylor Counties.

Harrison County felt the brunt of the urban flash flooding on this day, with over a dozen road closures and at least 11 homes suffering major damage. A townhome apartment complex in Bridgeport sustained minor to major flooding in the first floor of the homes, with restoration assistance needed from professional cleaners and other vendors. Even beyond the 29th, crew from the West Virginia Department of Highways were busy handling washed out roads and culvert replacements as a result of the inundating water from the rising creeks and streams.

Precipitation largely tapered down after midnight as drier air filtered in and precipitable water values substantially dropped off.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.3611, -80.0577)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1128141. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.