Flash Flood — Fayette, West Virginia

2001-07-26 · near Countywide, Fayette, West Virginia

Event narrative

Rains of 2 to 4 inches fell in 12 hours, most in less than 6 hours. Oak Hill reported 2.8 inches of rain. Further south, rains of near 4 inches were likely along the Raleigh County border. Communities such as Mount Hope, Kilsyth, Glen Jean, and Pax were hardest hit. Dunloup Creek and its tributaries flooded Kilsyth and Mount Hope. Around 50 families were forced to evacuate. The City Hall in Mount Hope had 5 feet of water, compared to 3 feet on the 8th.

Wider weather episode

Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms were along and south of a cold front. Areas of Fayette and Raleigh Counties were just recovering from the floods on the 8th, when renewed flooding hit. Referring to the clean up and recovery, the Raleigh County emergency director said, "It's disheartening. We've probably lost 30% of what we accomplished".

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5261868. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.