Flash Flood — Putnam, West Virginia

2018-05-26 · near Lanham, Putnam, West Virginia

Event narrative

Following about three inches of rain in under three hours, flash flooding along Scary Creek, Hurricane Creek, Crooked Creek and Poplar Fork lead to significant flooding of roads, homes and businesses in the Teays Valley and Scott Depot areas. Especially hard hit were the areas of Beechwood Estates, Maplewood Estates and Barrington Woods. All sit right along Poplar Fork. Five water rescues were performed in eastern Putnam County, this includes three separate vehicles that drove into high water. About 80 houses were damaged by the flooding, with five sustaining major damage. Two businesses sustained damage, the Scott Depot Post Office and a karate studio. Eight vehicles were destroyed, and another 10 had some water damage.

Wider weather episode

The combination of daytime heating and an approaching upper level trough led to scattered thunderstorm development on the afternoon and evenings of the 26th, 27th and 28th. While these storms were slow moving, most moved enough to limit flooding. However, several storms stalled out or kept regenerating over one spot, leading to flash flooding.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.4591, -81.7494)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 749983. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.