Flash Flood — Craig, Virginia

2025-05-13 · near New Castle, Craig, Virginia

Event narrative

Runoff from heavy rain resulted in flooding of Big Branch across Peaceful Valley Road near Hannah Circle, making the road impassible. No damage was reported to the road, which was reopened to traffic once the flooding receded.

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 → (37.5324, -80.1575)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1268856. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.