Flash Flood — Grayson, Virginia

2024-09-26 · near Independence, Grayson, Virginia

Event narrative

The intersection of New River Parkway and Hardin Road is flooded and impassible due to nearby Brush Creek flowing out of its banks. The Creek rose quickly when a band of heavier rainfall brought 1.1 inches within a 30 minute period ending at 6:20 am EDT. No damage was reported to the road. There were unconfirmed reports of a vehicle that may have been stranded in flood waters. Rainfall rates of less than 0.10 inch per hour over the next few hours allowed the water to recede back in the banks of the creek.

Wider weather episode

An upper level low was situated in the vicinity of western Tennessee, while a strong upper ridge was positioned over the southeast coast, which helped to steer Hurricane Helene into the Florida Big Bend during the evening of September 26. Ahead of Helene, the Predecessor Rainfall Event (PRE) that developed on the 25th continued to intensify as upper level areas of low pressure rotating around the upper low continued drawing deep tropical moisture from the Carolina coastal region, which supported nearly continual waves of showers and storms over western Virginia through the day. Through the 26th, rivers and creeks began to rise as four to eight inches of rain fell through the day mainly along and west of Interstate 77. At times, localized rates of two inches per hour were observed. In addition, as Hurricane Helene approached the area, winds above the surface increased in speed, and the showers and isolated storms helped bring these strong winds to the surface, resulting in reports of downed trees.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.5908, -81.1577)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1219022. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.