Flash Flood in Lynchburg (c) County, Virginia

Extreme rainfall of 4 to 6 inches in several hours produced widespread flash flooding in the City of Lynchburg. The first reports began around 515 PM local time (415 PM EST) and continued for several hours with numerous roads closed by water running over them, vehicles flooded, water rescues and several properties flooded or threatened. Several apartment complexes and nearby cars were flooded. The runoff into College Lake caused water to overflow the dam (which is also Lakeside Road) to a depth of at least 12 to 18 inches and into Blackwater Creek. The overtopping is considered a partial failure of the dam but a complete failure of the structure was possible. This resulted in a Flash Flood Warning for a dam failure and subsequent evacuation of about 120 homes in the downstream watershed of Blackwater Creek. According to local City officials flood damage exceeded $18 million in roads, property and water control structure damages, the biggest to College Lake Dam.

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.