Debris Flow — Giles, Virginia

2025-05-13 · near Mountain Lake, Giles, Virginia

Event narrative

Heavy rain caused a mudslide that completely blocked Mountain Lake Road. The road was reopened once the debris was cleared.

Wider weather episode

An upper low positioned over the Tennessee Valley, with numerous shortwaves rotating through it, brought several rounds of showers and thunderstorms to the area for a few days. Surface low pressure over the Midwest also helped to prompt the development of thunderstorms. A plume of moisture pushed northward into the area from the Carolinas, and helped convective initiation, despite some dry air also in the area. SBCAPE rose to between 1000-1500 J/kg, with moderate bulk shear of 25 to 30 knots, led to some storms becoming severe, and produce several instances of hail.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.3281, -80.5577)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1268107. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.