Heavy Rain — Monroe, West Virginia

2020-06-19 to 2020-06-20 · near Wolf Creek, Monroe, West Virginia

Event narrative

The COOP observer at Alderson measured 2.50 inches for the 24-hour period ending 700 AM on the 20th. This was a daily record for the date, beating the previous record of 1.45 inches in 1987. It was also the 6th highest daily rainfall in June with nearly complete data back to 1944. Nearby automated rain gages indicated that most of the rain fell in about a 90-minute period between about 430 and 600 PM local time, although news reports suggested a 45-minute time frame for the rainfall.

Wider weather episode

A broad closed off upper low drifted across South Carolina and northwest back into southwest Virginia and West Virginia bringing persistent rainfall that eventually led to flooding. There were repeated rounds of heavy rainfall with widespread amounts of 2 to 5 inches. The most notable rainfall was a fairly localized thunderstorm near Alderson, WV that caused severe flash flood damage on the afternoon of June 17th.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.7272, -80.6584)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 901518. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.