Flood — Nicholas, West Virginia

2003-11-19 · Nicholas, West Virginia

Wider weather episode

Rains of 2 to 4.2 inches fell from 2200E on the 18th through 1600E on the 19th. A strong inflow of moist air from the southeast, helped enhance these rains. The heaviest rain was over the central and southern mountains, say from the Snowshoe region on through Richwood, Beckley, Mullens, and Elkhorn. Some of the preliminary rain totals were 4.2 inches at Snowshoe, 3.9 inches at Richwood, 3.7 inches at Elkhorn, 3.5 inches at Rosedale, 3.3 inches at Frost and Mullens, 3.1 inches at Webster Springs and Glenville, 2.9 inches at Oak Hill and Beckley. Vegetation was dormant for the upcoming winter, the ground saturated, and the waterways were still flowing above normal levels from the heavy rain the preceding week. As a result, runoff into streams and rivers during this second November event was rapid. At the least, counties experienced flooded roads and landslides from overflowing small streams during the daylight hours on the 19th. Several rivers exceeded flood stage late on the 19th on into the 20th. This second round of November flooding hit the counties of Nicholas, Fayette, Raleigh, Wyoming, and McDowell harder. The Cherry River flooded Richwood. On the river gauge on the Cranberry River, a crest of 11.9 feet was reported by the USGS. The flood of record at that gauge is 12.2 feet in July of 1954. Eleven residences were destroyed, 100 had major damage, and 200 dwellings saw minor damage in Nicholas County. One church had major damage. Richwood Junior High School had 3 to 4 feet of water inside. The principal said, "It was the worst thing I had ever seen in my life." Richwood High School had a foot of water in some sections. Some students were evacuated to City Hall. The water and sewer system in Richwood was damaged. In Fayette County, some 20 homes had major damage and Sugar Creek Road was impassable. In Raleigh County, 3 homes had major damage and roughly 300 homes and businesses had some minor damage. One empty school bus was destroyed when the operator drove into water along Route 3. On the Clear Fork of the Big Coal River, the crest above Whitesville was 22 feet, about 4 feet above bank full. In Wyoming County, 8 residences had major damage and about 200 sustained minor damage. In Mullens, 5 businesses were closed with major damage. In McDowell County, about 50 homes had minor damage, and roads were closed by slides. In Gilmer County, about 50 homes were damaged, some by small streams, and others by the Little Kanawha River. The Left Fork of Steer Creek caused minor damage to Normantown Elementary School. In Glenville, the Little Kanawha River crested at 30.4 feet near 0000E on the 20th. In Calhoun County, Arnoldsburg Elementary School had 8 inches of water inside. In Putnam County, about 20 homes had major damage, while some 60 others saw minor damage from flooding. In Pocahontas County, about 15 to 20 homes or businesses had minor damage. In Webster County, the upper Gauley River crested at 22.3 feet at Camden on Gauley. That is the highest stage since the 23.1 foot level in November of 1985.In Kanawha County, most of the flooding was the result of the Elk, Coal and Kanawha Rivers exceeding or reaching flood stage. Most of the damage was in the Clendenin vicinity from the Elk River. The crest at Queen Shoals was 23.3 feet, or over 4 feet above flood stage. The lower Coal River at Tornado crested near 29 feet, or 4 feet above flood stage. The Kanawha River crested in Charleston at its 30 foot flood stage around 0200E on the 20th. That's the first time since 1955, that flood stage in Charleston has been obtained. All total about 40 residences and 2 businesses in Kanawha County had major damage. Around 1100E on the 19th, an 80 year old male from Dunlow drowned, after driving his vehicle into flood waters from Mill Creek. This occurred near Fort Gay in Wayne County. During the evening of the 19th, an 82 year old man from Switzer of Logan County fell into the swollen Island Creek and drowned. Apparently, he was out walking in the dark. His body was recovered on the 20th, about 3 miles down the stream. This second episode of flooding in November, caused several more counties to qualify for federal assistance. The major disaster was declared after the flood on the 12th into the 13th.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5331524. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.