Flash Flood — Buena Vista (c), Virginia

2018-09-01 · near Buena Vista, Buena Vista (c), Virginia

Event narrative

A spotter reported running water up to hubcaps on several vehicles on Magnolia Aveune near 22nd and 23rd Streets.

Wider weather episode

A stationary boundary through the Mid-Atlantic into the Mid-Mississippi Valley spawned thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening of August 31st that carried over into the early morning hours of September 1st . Storms were mainly across the foothills and southside Virginia with radar estimated rainfall of 1 to 2.5 inches in a few hours. Top rain gage reports ending at 0700 EDT on the 1st included 2.28' at Woolwine 3.7 NNE CCR (VA-PR-6), 1.98' at Woolwine COOP (WLWV2), 1.74' at Smith R. Fieldale IFLOWS (SRVV2), 1.50' at Martinsville COOP (MARV2), and 1.11' at Meadows Church IFLOWS (MEAV2). Dissipation of the storms prior to daybreak allowed for enough heating during the day to destabilize the region again for another round of thunderstorms during the afternoon in the same areas near the stationary boundary. The late afternoon storms on the 1st dropped 2-3 inches in a few hours across parts of eastern Campbell, western Charlotte and southern Appomattox counties.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.7500, -79.3433)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 783249. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.