Flash Flood — Smyth, Virginia

2023-08-28 · near Saltville, Smyth, Virginia

Event narrative

Heavy rainfall resulted in localized flash flooding along Palmer Avenue in the community of Saltville. Water was reported to have entered a few businesses along the road. Property damage is the estimated cost of the damage and cleanup to the businesses.

Wider weather episode

High pressure was established over New England, which extended southward across the lower Mid-Atlantic in a wedging pattern, with east windflow observed across Virginia and northern North Carolina. A cold front stretched from western Pennsylvania through eastern Tennessee, making slow eastward progress. The easterly windflow was tapping a pool of deep moisture from eastern North Carolina and Virginia, where precipitable water values ranged between 1.7 and 1.8 inches, while afternoon surface-based CAPE values ranged between 1,500 and 2,000 J/Kg across Smyth County. With weak winds aloft, storms across western Virginia were slow-moving. The combination of deep instability driven strong afternoon heating, high atmospheric moisture and slow storm motion resulted in a strong thunderstorm that produced 3 to 4 inches of rainfall over the town of Saltville during a roughly 60-minute period, with rainfall rates of 4 inches per hour at times.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.8767, -81.7677)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1131566. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.