Flash Flood — Campbell, Virginia

2024-09-21 · near Mike, Campbell, Virginia

Event narrative

Runoff from heavy rainfall caused Jacobs Creek to be observed flowing nearly a foot deep across Red House Road. No damage was reported to the road, and it was open to traffic after the water receded.

Wider weather episode

An approaching cold front, supported aloft by the passage of an upper level disturbance, triggered thunderstorms across the Piedmont of central Virginia during the evening of September 21st. Several rounds of these storms passed from the City of Lynchburg southeast across Campbell County. Rain was observed falling at rates of three to locally five inches per hour in these storms, with rainfall totals ranging from three to four inches estimated for eastern Campbell County. CREST Unit Streamflow in the Jacobs Creek basin rose as high as 480 cfs/mi^2, while 3-hour rainfall was estimated to be around 125 percent of flash flood guidance. The 3-hour Average Recurrence Intervals in the Jacobs Creek basin ranged from a 30-year event to locally as high as a 50-year event. In addition, the storms caused a nearly 4-hour long delay due to lightning of a Liberty University football game, which was still played after the storms finally exited the area.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.1968, -78.8905)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1218883. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.