Heavy Rain — Martinsville (c), Virginia

2018-08-02 to 2018-08-03 · near Martinsville, Martinsville (c), Virginia

Event narrative

Martinsville FP COOP (MARV2) measured 1.93 inches for the 24-hour period ending at 8 AM EDT on the 3rd. This was the highest ever for this date, with nearly complete data back to 1931.

Wider weather episode

A complex, broken line of thunderstorms developed during the afternoon ahead of an approaching cold front producing very heavy rainfall and some embedded severe storms. Trees were blown trees onto power lines, which caused a number of power outages. Henry County and the city of Martinsville suffered the most tree damage and power outages. Rainfall was extremely intense within the very moist environment with precipitable water over 2 inches and several boundary collisions enhancing the rainfall. The highest amounts occurred in the City of Lynchburg and adjacent parts of Campbell County where radar estimated 4 to 6 inches of rain in several hours which was confirmed by several rain gages.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.6800, -79.8700)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 778376. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.