Heavy Rain — Gallia, Ohio

2008-03-19 · near Ewington, Gallia, Ohio

Event narrative

A man drowned along a swollen Racoon Creek and a low spot along Route 325 near the village of Vinton. Otherwise, county officials reported no flooding.

According to a state report, the driver drove partially into water covering the road, but then backed out. This was at night. The driver then pulled into a nearby driveway and asked the property owner if he thought he could make it through the water. The property owner told the driver that if he could see the edge lines, he should be okay. The driver then proceeded to drive into the water, where his pickup truck was caught by the current and swept downstream. The driver was able to get out of his truck. The property owner ran over to try to help, offering a long stick to the driver, telling him to swim toward it. The driver was unable to make it. His body was recovered a few hours later.

Wider weather episode

Rain spread into southeast Ohio near dawn on Tuesday, the 18th. A strong east to west warm front had set up across northern Kentucky. By late afternoon, rain amounts of 0.5 to 1.35 had already fallen, with the heaviest being over northern Jackson, Vinton, and Athens Counties. A lull occurred Tuesday evening, as the warm front and its rain shifted north. However, as the low pressure lifted northeast through the Ohio Valley, another 1 to 2 inches of rain fell on the 19th. Some preliminary rain totals over about a 36 hour period included, 3.5 inches at McArthur, 3.0 inches at New Lexington, 2.7 inches at Jackson, 2.6 inches at Salem Center, 2.3 inches at McConnelsville, 2.2 inches at Beverly, 2.1 inches at Athens, and 1.7 inches at Nelsonville. Storm totals were even higher further southwest, down the Ohio River Valley, where the moisture inflow was greater.

Luckily, southeast Ohio avoided a major flood event. Small stream flooding was widespread across Perry, Athens, Morgan, Vinton, Jackson, and Meigs Counties. A few streams, such as Duck Creek, also flooded in Washington County. Numerous roads were closed by high water, but no dwellings were damaged by flood waters. Several school districts closed schools on the 19th. County maintenance departments were kept busy clearing debris off of culverts and roads.

Later, the larger streams and rivers also saw minor flooding on the 19th into the 20th. The Muskingum River creasted just over 12 feet at McConnelsville during the predawn hours of the 20th. Flood stage there is 11 feet. The Hocking River at Athens crested at 21.4 feet during the late evening of the 20th. Flood stage at Athens is 20 feet. The Shade River near Chester crested at 20 feet during the evening of the 20th. Bankfull is 17 feet near Chester.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.0000, -82.3240)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 85630. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.