Flash Flood — Athens, Ohio

2012-05-04 to 2012-05-05 · near Nelsonville, Athens, Ohio

Event narrative

Small streams across the northern portion of the county flooded.

An elderly couple was driving home along Linscott Run. This is a small tributary to Federal Creek near Amesville. Close to home, the husband decided to stop his vehicle and wait out some high water. Their vehicle became surrounded by rising water. The couple made an attempt to walk to nearby higher ground. The wife was using a walker due to recent hip surgery. She slipped and the husband could not hold on to her. The current swept her away. The fire department located her body around dawn on the 5th, about a half mile downstream. The husband was helped to safety by neighbors using a garden hose. Route 550 was also flooded in Amesville.

Several streets in Nelsonville were flooded including along Dorr Run and Pleasant View Road. Large dump rocks, used in the bypass construction, were even moved by the water. A wall to a garage was knocked over by the water. A house foundation was damaged.

A vehicle was flooded along Margaret Creek near Albany. The occupants were unhurt at a nearby home when the local fire department arrived.

Wider weather episode

Convection dropped from northwestern Ohio during the late afternoon and reached into southeast Ohio during the evening hours of the 4th. This was south of an east to west cold front in northern Ohio. That front was sinking slowly south. Surface dew points were in the mid 60s.

The convection consolidated into large cold clusters, first in eastern Ohio. As these weakened, the clusters of showers and thunderstorms to their southwest got stronger. These moved through southeast Ohio. Rain amounts of 1.5 to 2 inches fell in less than 2 hours. A few very localized amounts around 2.25 inches were likely. The Jackson cooperative observer measured 2.03 inches.

One fatality occurred in Athens County. Most of the flooding was confined to roads. Damage occurred to vehicles that stalled when motorists drove through flooded roads. Several motorists were rescued in Jackson and Gallia Counties.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.4700, -82.2300)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 372583. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.