Flood — Roanoke (c), Virginia

2017-01-23 to 2017-01-24 · near Roanoke, Roanoke (c), Virginia

Event narrative

The Roanoke River at Roanoke (RONV2) gage crested at 10.58 feet (Minor Flood Stage = 10 ft.) near midday on the 23rd. The bike trail along the river was closed due to flood waters and the low water brdige at Wiley Drive was well under water.

Wider weather episode

A powerful upper low developed over the south central states late on January 21st with an intense surface low tracking from Arkansas to the northern mid-Atlantic coast over the next few days. Storm total rainfall ranged from 1 to 4 inches with locally higher amounts across the Blacksburg CWA during the 48-hour period ending 7 PM on the 24th. Record daily rainfall records were set for January 23rd at Roanoke Airport (1.87'; old record 0.91' set in 1999), Bluefield Airport (1.53'; old record 0.91' set in 2002) and Blacksburg NWS (1.32'; old record 0.88' set in 1954). Flooding was generally minor and concentrated in the Roanoke metro area and on the lower reaches of several rivers.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.2607, -79.9372)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 676819. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.