Flood — Pocahontas, West Virginia

2021-03-01 to 2021-03-02 · near Buckeye, Pocahontas, West Virginia

Event narrative

The town of Marlinton was evacuated due to the Greenbrier River rising above its banks and spilling into residential roadways and homes. This impacted residents along First Avenue through Fifth Avenue, as well as Eighth and Ninth Streets. Local citizens in Greenview also evacuated along the Spruce River as high water rose into their homes. Napps Creek also flooded between Marlinton and Huntersville. WV Route 39 was closed due to high water.

Wider weather episode

Over 4 inches of rain fell across West Virginia from the final few days of February through the morning of Monday, March 1st. Multiple disturbances passed through the state during this time and caused periods of heavy rain. The most rain from this event fell south of the I-64 corridor, but the entire state observed at least 1 to 2 inches of rain over the span of four days. This contributed to notable flooding across West Virginia as local creeks rose out of their banks and spilled onto local roadways. Moderate river flooding took place during the first few days of March, with some river gages recording historic crests, including the Coal, Elk, and Tug Fork Rivers.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.1913, -80.1733)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 949616. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.