Flash Flood — Mingo, West Virginia

2004-05-30 to 2004-05-31 · near Countywide, Mingo, West Virginia

Event narrative

Repetitive thunderstorms dumped 3.5 to 4.5 inches of rain in the Williamson and Delbarton vicinity on north toward the Route 119 corridor. Williamson, Millstone and Buffalo Mountain all measured around 4.25 inches of rain. The ground was already wet from previous rain. Over this steep terrain, severe flash flooding occurred along with landslides. The Pigeon Creek basin, including such tributaries as Rockhouse Fork, Elk Creek, Conley Branch, Trace Fork, and Laurel Fork received the full burnt of the runoff. This included such communities as Taylorville, Varney, Delbarton, Ragland, Belo, and Lenore.Around 90 homes were destroyed with 165 home sustaining major damage in Mingo County. The high school and the middle school for Williamson both received some water damage. Later on the 31st, the runoff caused the Tug Fork to crest at 39.8 feet at Kermit. Flood stage is 38 feet. An oddity to this event, was the fact that the Tug Fork River at Williamson did not even reach flood stage. The rain was lighter over the headwaters, upstream of Williamson.

Wider weather episode

The flash flooding in Mingo, Logan, and Wyoming Counties became part of the federal disaster area. Additional flooding, but on a more localized scale, would occur in the disaster area in early June. Around 500 National Guard troops were used in the flood cleanup and recovery. Some of the units had just returned from 14 months in Irag. The only uniform available to some of the troops, was what they wore home. The rest of their gear was still awaiting shipment back to West Virginia. As a result, some of the troops were in desert camouflage, while working in Mingo County. One soldier said, "they won't care what we're wearing, just as long as we're down here." In comparison to Mingo, Logan, and Wyoming Counties, the flooding was minor across sections of Raleigh and Boone Counties. The Marsh Fork and the Clear Fork basins of western Raleigh County saw a dampened rain maximum compared to points further west. Rains of 2.5 to 3 inches were measured in parts of Raleigh County. The stream gauge on the Clear Fork near Leevale crested at the 18 foot bankfull level. A rain maximum of 3 to 3.5 inches likely fell over extreme southeastern portions of Boone County. This caused minor flooding along the Pond and Spruce Forks, plus the Little Coal River near Madison and Danville. One house was moved off its foundation by a landslide along Route 3 between Seth and Orgas.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5397960. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.