Flood — Roanoke (c), Virginia

2016-07-12 · near Roanoke, Roanoke (c), Virginia

Event narrative

Heavy rain, with nearly 1.2 inches falling within 20 minutes and more than 2 inches within an hour, combined with poor drainage to cause urban flooding across portions of the city of Roanoke. Water was up to the bumpers of cars in several intersections requiring EMS crews to escort drivers from vehicles to safety. Local media reported damage to several cars. Campbell Road near 10th Street was flooded and closed until the flooding subsided.

Wider weather episode

Strong daytime heating and weak upper level winds combined to produce spotty and slow-moving afternoon showers and thunderstorms, a few of which became strong to severe. The convection produced localized heavy rain, as well as isolated wind damage where the storms intensified to severe levels. Rain gage reports around the City of Roanoke included Mill Mtn. IFLOWS (MLMV2) 2.01', Roanoke R. at STP IFLOWS (RSTV2) 1.73' and Roanoke SG (RONV2) 1.69'.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.2735, -79.9295)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 650974. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.