Flash Flood — Danville (c), Virginia

2018-09-22 to 2018-09-23 · near Danville, Danville (c), Virginia

Event narrative

There were numerous reports of flash flooding in Danville. A home was collapsed on Mt. Carmel Baptist Street with the residents being rescued by boat. Another person was rescued from rising waters along Riverside Drive even as others passed through the floodwaters. Up to 69 vehicles were damaged or destroyed at Woodall Chevrolet in Danville along with some building damage as water from local runoff and possibly from an unnamed stream just to the west of the dealers rose. A nearby NAPA auto parts store was also flooded. Four vehicles were fully or partially submerged along Timberlake Drive and Northmont Boulevard with no injuries or rescues.

Wider weather episode

A slow-moving frontal boundary along with moisture convergence along the Blue Ridge and some modest jet stream support aloft triggered numerous thunderstorms from the late afternoon through late evening hours. These slow-moving storms produced very heavy rainfall from the Blue Ridge out across several piedmont counties. Rainfall totals ranged from 3 to 5 inches with isolated higher amounts approaching 6 inches in northern Franklin and southern Bedford counties, all of it occurring generally within a few hours.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.6059, -79.4726)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 785744. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.