Flood — Raleigh, West Virginia

2010-03-13 · near Besoco, Raleigh, West Virginia

Event narrative

Major stream flooding along such streams as Piney, Beaver, Little Beaver, Little Whitestick, and the headwaters of Dunloup Creek, including Maple Fork. Damage was less along the Marsh Fork and Clear Fork drainage in the western portion of the county.

A 59 year old female turnpike worker was returning home from the evening shift. She left her vehicle parked and attempted to walk through the flood waters of Maple Fork west of Bradley. She was swept away and drowned.

The majority of the property damage in Raleigh County was along the urbanized Beaver Creek, Little Beaver Creek, and Piney Creek. This would be in the vicinity of the communities of Beaver and Glen Morgan. A stream gauge was located along Piney Creek upstream from the mouth of Beaver Creek. The water level at this gauge rose from about 3 feet to a record high of 11.4 feet around 0430E on the 13th.

One resident along Beaver Creek said, I've lived here for 24 years and never seen anything like this. Other residents along the lower reaches of Beaver Creek sought refuge in their attics and called 911 for help. A swift water rescue team from the Glasgow Fire Department was working rescues along Beaver Creek. The boat struck something in the water, lost its steering and crashed into a bridge. The boat capsized, throwing 3 firefighters into the water. Two were able to reach safety. However, a 32 year old male firefighter was swept away. His body was not found until the 19th along Piney Creek. Beaver Creek flows into Piney Creek before emptying into the Kanawha River.

Many culverts under roadbeds could not handle the flow. A few were completely washed out.

Preliminary data indicated 29 homes were destroyed in Raleigh County, with major damage to 34 other homes. Dozens of vehicles were flooded.

Wider weather episode

After a cold and snowy February, a switch to a warmer pattern began during the second week of the month. This started the runoff from a deep snow pack over the West Virginia mountainous counties. A widespread 2 to 4 inches of water resided in the snow pack with some ridgetops exceeding 6 inches of water in the snow.

Flood concerns were high preceding the event, but mainly for the central and northern mountain counties of the state. The deepest snow cover still resided across the high terrain in those counties. Prior to the heavy rain, the snow cover over Fayette and Raleigh Counties had already melted away. However, the ground was left soggy and primed to allow for a quick runoff.

Governor Manchin even declared a state of emergency before any rain arrived.

An increasing southeast flow developed on Friday the 12th with dew points climbing into the mid and upper 40s. The support for the showers was provided by a large mid and upper air low circulation, shifting east into the Tennessee Valley.

Showers developed early that evening, then moved northwest through the southern mountains of West Virginia into the Coal and Kanawha River Valleys. A few thunderstorms were embedded within the heavier showers. Training of these cells occurred in narrow bands oriented in an arch from southeast to northwest.

Luckily, the heavy rain never transferred further north, where the mountain snow pack was still melting.

In a 6 hour period ending at 0100E on the 13th, the Raleigh County Airport received 2.58 inches of rain, while Charleston had 0.80 inches. By 0700E on the 13th, Beckley had a 3 inch rain total. Oak Hill in Fayette County had 2.95 inches ending at dawn on the 13th. The cooperative observer in Beckley measured 2.12 inches. The Huff Knob automated rain gauge near Ghent measured 2.76 inches in the 12 hour overnight period. On Tams Mountain, west of Sophia, another automatic rain gauge measured 2.1 inches in 12 hours. Oceana of northern Wyoming County measured 2.3 inches. Amounts around 2 inches in 12 hours were common through the Big Coal River Valley to around Charleston. An unofficial spotter report of 3.6 inches was received just 1 mile southeast of downtown Beckley. Further north, rain amounts around an inch reached into Nicholas County.

After dawn on the 13th, only spotty light rain lingered in the cooler air.

Major small stream flooding was widespread in Raleigh and Fayette Counties. There were 2 direct fatalities from Raleigh County. Flooding of less severity occurred in Kanawha, Nicholas, Boone, and Wyoming Counties.

During the daylight hours on the 13th, the Kanawha and Coal Rivers rose rapidly and caused backwater flooding. For example, the mouth of Paint Creek flooded in the Hansford and Pratt vicinity. Later that night, the Coal River crested at 25.5 feet at Tornado, slightly over its 25 foot flood stage. The crest on the Kanawha at Charleston was 29 feet, just under the 30 foot flood stage.

The American Red Cross served over 1000 meals and around 900 snacks in the affected flood zone. They also distributed over 400 clean-up kits. The Salvation Army and various church groups also came to the aid of the local citizens.

A federal disaster was declared that included Raleigh, Fayette, and Kanawha Counties. See FEMA disaster number 1893 for more details.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.6240, -81.2319)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 215579. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.