Flood — Tucker, West Virginia

1996-01-19 to 1996-01-20 · Tucker, West Virginia

Wider weather episode

The Cheat River, in the northern mountains of West Virginia and one of the flashiest rivers in the country, was the first river to reach flood stage in this widespread flood event. The Cheat River began a rapid rise on the night of the 18th due to snow melt. Up to 25 inches of snow was in place before warm air moved in and melted the icy snowpack. Rain then fueled the rise, culminating in a river crest for Parsons, West Virginia of 19.8 feet at 1 pm on the 19th, 6.8 feet above flood stage. This was just four feet below the flood of record of 23.8 feet (November 1985). Near record flooding also occurred downstream at Rowlesburg. The river crested at 24.2 feet, 8.2 feet above its 16 foot flood stage, at 4 pm on the 19th. Many residences sustained damage to the house and contents. Other small streams and creeks in the counties flooded. All tolled, in Preston and Tucker Counties, 85 homes had major damage, 127 homes minor damage, and 141 homes minimally affected. Damage was also sustained to bridges and roads.An estimated 3.5 to 4.0 inches of runoff was released during the event.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5544527. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.