Flash Flood — Charlotte, Virginia

2024-08-08 · near Phenix, Charlotte, Virginia

Event narrative

Stockdale Road was flooded and impassible as Austin Creek overflowed its banks several inches deep across the road. No damage was reported to the road, and it was open to traffic after the water receded.

Wider weather episode

The remnants of Hurricane Debbie moved north toward the area on August 8th, 2024. A strong southeast flow of wind on the system's northern extent, along with wet soils due to heavy rainfall, helped to cause downed trees and power lines over portions of Virginia. Winds gusted to at least 40 to 45 mph over parts of the region. The strong winds continued into the morning hours of August 9th, 2024. The highest totals were observed in a swath stretching from Patrick and Franklin Counties through southern Botetourt and Bedford, including the Cities of Roanoke and Salem, where three to five inches were recorded, amounts that were generally 10-year average recurrence interval (ARI) events per NOAA Atlas 14 Point Precipitation Frequency estimates. Another swath of similar amounts was observed from Charlotte County through central Buckingham County. Rainfall amounts for most of the remainder of of central Virginia were under three inches and generally less than 10-year ARI events. There were

long breaks in between rainfall bands, with many areas receiving only light to occasionally moderate rainfall for two to three hours, which helped diminish the flooding threat. Another factor that decreased the flash flooding potential were antecedent soil conditions and streamflows that were near to below normal from drought conditions occurring earlier in the summer. As a result, bands of heavy rain did cause several fist and second order streams to flood rapidly out of their banks, making nearby roads impassible for several hours until the water receded. The Dan River rose to minor flood stage at South Boston.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.0810, -78.7307)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1213606. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.