Flash Flood — Lawrence, Ohio

2010-07-20 to 2010-07-21 · near Hanging Rock, Lawrence, Ohio

Event narrative

Around 150 properties reported damage. Of that number, about 30 to 35 homes sustained major damage or were destroyed. Two county timber bridges were washed away. A historic double stone arch bridge at Lake Vesuvius was severely damaged. It was built in the 1930s. Several private bridges and culverts were also damaged or destroyed, creating access issues. One school was damaged along with some churches. Debris, including large boulders, also slid off unstable hillsides onto roads.

A lot of the damage was concentrated in the Storms Creek. That was along and near Route 93. Yet, even along Solida Creek north of South Point, damaged occurred. Overall, Hamilton, Upper, Elizabeth, and Fayette Townships reported the most damage in the county. Some of this same area was flooded during May of 2010.

Thankfully, there were no fatalities in Lawrence County. One male residence along Route 93 woke up in a thunderstorm around 0100E. He was going to back his truck out of the garage and drive to check on another property. The electricity was out. Luckily, he got a flashlight and noticed his private driveway bridge was washed away before attempting to leave.

Wider weather episode

Well south of a frontal boundary, a moist and unstable air mass resided over the Ohio Valley. The ground was already wetter than normal from previous rains. A southwest and west wind along with daytime heating formed showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon of the 20th. Overnight, more storms formed along a leftover east to west boundary. That allowed for repetitive showers from portions of northeast Kentucky into extreme southern Ohio and western West Virginia.

The main period of rain was from around 1400E on the 20th to 0100E on the 21st. The heaviest rain amounts ran west to east across Lawrence County. This rain maximum started near Hanging Rock and Pine Grove. The higher rain totals ran east to near Lake Vesuvius, Kitts Hill, Linnville and Scottown. An automatic gauge at Kitts Hill measure a total of 4.47 inches of rain, with 3 inches falling in 3 hours. The rain total at Procterville was 4.01 inches, while South Point measured 3.35 inches. The stream gauge at Aid along Symmes Creek jumped from 6 feet to a crest around 18 feet overnight.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.5500, -82.7200)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 245472. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.