Flood — Pocahontas, West Virginia

2025-02-06 · near Huntersville, Pocahontas, West Virginia

Event narrative

Knapp Creek at Huntersville exceeded a bankfull level of 9 feet on the morning of February 6th. The creek reached a crest around 9.5 feet in the afternoon and returned below bankfull that evening. As a result of the creek rising out of its banks, flooding of farmland, fields, and outbuildings next to Knapp Creek and Browns Creek occurred. Knapp Creek also flooded Huntersville Road.

Wider weather episode

Showers first entered into West Virginia on the evening of February 5th as a disturbance skirted by to the south. Precipitation continued into the next day, in addition to a few severe thunderstorms that developed ahead of a cold front in the early afternoon. Strong wind gusts from storms caused numerous downed trees and power line damage across Boone and Lincoln Counties during the early afternoon of February 6th. Another wave of precipitation then passed through the state on the evening and overnight hours of the 6th before coming to an end.

Throughout the event, a swath of two to four inches of rain fell across portions of central and southern West Virginia. One to two inches fell in northern West Virginia, while locations to the north of US 50 generally received less than an inch of rain.

Flooding began in the state shortly after midnight on the 6th and prevailed throughout the day in the midst of the periods of heavier rainfall. Excess runoff led to rises along many creeks, streams, and smaller rivers. Impacts included some flooded vehicles and structures, mud and rock slides, water rescues, and numerous flooded roads. While high pressure led to drier conditions, minor flooding lingered along parts of the Mud and Tygart Valley Rivers well into the day of February 7th.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.1825, -80.0232)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1227700. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.