Flood — Washington, Ohio

2024-04-03 to 2024-04-06 · near Grandview, Washington, Ohio

Event narrative

The Ohio River gauge at Willow Island Lock rose above its flood stage on the morning of April 3rd, then reached a crest of around 41.3 feet the morning of the 5th. The river then receded below flood stage the next morning. With the river spilling out of its banks, water inundated Ohio Route 7 in the Reno area. Ohio State Route 7, Township Road 443, and Township Road 19 at Newell Run and Lenards Landing flooded.

During the time the river was out of its banks, a 42 year old man perished after attempting to drive through the floodwaters on State Route 7 just north of Archer Fork Road.

Wider weather episode

Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms moved across parts of Ohio at the start of the month of April. An intense squall line raced through portions of southeast Ohio on the late morning of April 2nd, which spawned four tornadoes and caused numerous other locations to observe straight-line wind damage. Additional severe thunderstorms occurred late in the afternoon and into the evening of April 2nd, producing additional tornadoes and wind damage centered within southern and eastern Ohio.

The multiple rounds of rain produced numerous instances of flash flooding around Ohio. Widespread rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches had fallen across southern and eastern Ohio, with localized amounts near 6 inches observed. Runoff from this rainfall, coupled with heavy rain occurring in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, caused moderate to major flooding along the Ohio River. Moderate flooding was observed first along the lower Muskingum River, with both McConnellsville and Beverly having surpassed their respective moderate flood stage. Drainage into the Ohio River eventually sent the river into flood on April 4th from north to south, with subsequent crests occurring into April 5th. Locations along the upper reaches experienced moderate flooding. In addition, Marietta exceeded major flood stage. Overall impacts were significant with numerous roads and structures observing flooding along the West Virginia side of the river.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.4969, -81.0934)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1171139. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.