Flood — Pulaski, Virginia

2024-09-26 to 2024-09-29 · near Allisonia, Pulaski, Virginia

Event narrative

The New River at Allisonia (ALSV2) crested at 21.91 feet (166,945 cfs) at 11:15 PM EDT on Sept. 27th (28/0315 UTC) due to heavy rain associated with Tropical Cyclone Helene. It was observed that the gage flatlined at this stage for about 3 hours, so it's possible that the crest was closer to or rose above 22 feet. This is the second highest crest in the history of this gage, behind the flooding event of August 1940 (23.42 ft). This crest rates just above a 200-year Average Recurrence Interval (ARI), or a 0.5% Annual Exceedance Probability per USGS StreamStats. The flooding was the result of between 10 and locally 20 inches of rain that fell across the upper New River basin between the 25th and 27th, with totals ranging anywhere from between a 200-year and more than a 1,000-year ARI per NOAA Atlas 14 Point Precipitation Frequency estimates. Extensive flooding occurred along Clarks Ferry Road and Julia Simpkins Road in Allisonia, Shulls Lane and Ledge Rock Road in the Draper area, Parrott River Road in Parrott and Hazel Hollow Road in Fairlawn, where numerous homes were inundated to various extents. Along Julia Simpkins Road, the Allisonia Pentecostal Holiness Church was partially submerged by the New River for the first documented time since it was built in 1912. Numerous trailers that were parked at campsites along the river were carried away by the flood waters. Claytor lake was noted filled with about 240 tons of debris washed in from the river, which covers an estimated 20 acres of the lake's surface. Some debris originated from as far upstream as Jefferson, NC. Roughly 65 homes in Pulaski County were majorly damaged, while 39 homes were minorly damaged.

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a powerful Category 4 hurricane late Thursday, September 26, and moved quickly northward into the southeastern states, and then turned slightly northwestward towards the southern Appalachian Mountains overnight into Friday morning, weakening as it moved over land. Helene's intensity and fast forward motion led to impacts being felt well inland, from the Florida Big Bend area into the Appalachians, almost only 12 hours after landfall, and there was extensive damage in southwest Virginia. Widespread cellular service and power outages, some lasting for several days, occurred as high winds downed thousands of trees across the region. Winds gusted as high as 55 mph to 65 mph in southwest Virginia. There were three confirmed tornadoes associated with the remnants of Hurricane Helene in the Piedmont of Virginia. Flooding impacts from Hurricane Helene were extensive across the area, and were exacerbated by a predecessor rainfall event that occurred a day before Helene reached the region, which brought six to eight inches of rain to the mountains prior to the arrival of the remnants of Helene. The three day rainfall totals associated with the remnants of Hurricane Helene were highest Grayson and Smyth Counties, where observations of 10 to locally 15 inches of rain were recorded. The Piedmont of Virginia received much less rain, between one and two inches, with a couple areas around three inches. Total economic losses for Virginia, which include Virginia's agriculture, forestry, and other industries, are expected to range between $416 million and $630 million per an economic analysis released by Virginia Tech researchers.

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Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1212352. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.