Flash Flood in Martinsville (c) County, Virginia

Martinsville City was included as part of the Presidential Major Disaster declaration with significant damage to roads and other structures. The time of occurrence is based on the highest runoff from the CREST hydrologic model.

Hurricane Florence made landfall on the far southeast North Carolina coast on September 14th and tracked very slowly across South Carolina before slowly re-curving across far western North Carolina and southwest Virginia as Tropical Depression and on into the Ohio Valley. Multiple incidents of strong winds, flash flooding and flooding occurred with Florence. The following counties were included in a subsequent Presidential Disaster Declaration: Botetourt, Franklin, Halifax, City of Martinsville, Patrick, and Pittsylvania. Several more counties were still working through the validation process: Charlotte, Craig, and City of Danville. The first rainfall of any significance reached southern Virginia on the 15th with about 1 to 3 inches falling by 12z (700 AM) on the 16th. Much heavier rainfall began to spread further northward during the afternoon and evening of the 16th prompting numerous Flash Flood Warnings and causing significant flood impacts. The highest observed rain amounts in Virginia within the HSA were over parts of southwest Floyd and northwest Patrick counties with over 8 inches in 24 hours (ending at 700 AM on the 17th) and 9 to 10 inches storm total. Willis 2.7 SE CoCoRaHS (VA-FL-6) had 9.59 inches in the 72-hour period ending 700 AM on the 18th.