Heavy Rain in Halifax County, Virginia

A personal weather station (KVAHALIF22) observed a total of 4.1 inches of rain falling in about 3.5 hours, with 3.7 inches observed falling in a little over 90 minutes from 7:24 pm EDT to 9 pm EDT. Rainfall rates during that time frequent exceeded 3 inches per hour. Runoff from this location drains into Miry Creek.

Deep moisture pooled across the lower Mid-Atlantic during the afternoon and evening of the 25th ahead of a slow-moving cold front situated near the Ohio River, with precipitable water values reaching into the 1.8 to 1.9 inch range across the Southside area of Virginia per Storm Prediction Center Meso-analysis. Abundant daytime heating allowed CAPE values to reach in excess of 1,500 J/kg during the evening. A line of slow-moving thunderstorms developed along a nearly-stationary surface trough that extended from Carroll County through central Halifax and Charlotte Counties, with multiple cells observed training along this boundary. The heaviest rain was observed within the Polecat Creek and Miry Creek basins, where nearly 5.5 inches fell within a 3-hour period. Multiple cells were estimated by radar to be producing rainfall rates of 3 to 5 inches per hour. Cells began to develop over the basins at around 6:00 pm EDT, with training reaching a maximum at around 8:00 pm EDT. Despite dry antecedent conditions with D3: Extreme Drought highlighted for all of Halifax County by the U.S. Drought Monitor, MRMS FLASH data estimated the rainfall reached the 200-year Average Recurrence Interval ceiling for a 3-hour duration along a east-west strip within the west-central portion of the county, with rainfall totals reaching 150 percent of the 3-hour Flash Flood Guidance. CREST Unit Streamflow ranged from 350 to 650 cfs per mi^2 during the storm.