Flash Flood — Bedford, Virginia

2024-09-25 to 2024-09-26 · near Bedford City, Bedford, Virginia

Event narrative

Between 1.75 and 2.5 inches of rain fell from a thunderstorm, with rainfall rates estimated to be between 3 and 4 inches per hour. Railroad Avenue was flooded and impassible due to several inches of water flowing over the roadway. The Bedford Fire Department responded to calls for three homes and an apartment building that were partially flooded, with those residents forced to evacuate.

Wider weather episode

A nearly stationary front that extended south from West Virginia into Western Virginia and North Carolina Piedmont served as the focus for thunderstorm development during the afternoon of September 25. Some clearing allowed for an increase in instability, but not quite enough to support widespread severe thunderstorms. Favorable upper level divergence was also present over the area as an upper low closed off over the Middle Mississippi Valley, and allowed for scattered storms to strengthen and cause isolated instances of wind damage. Southeasterly windflow around high pressure off the Atlantic coast brought deep moisture to the central Appalachians, which supported heavy rain within the thunderstorms. Some storms produced rainfall rates of three to four inches per hour, and passed repeatedly over the same locations.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.3397, -79.5565)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1218921. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.