Flash Flood — Roanoke (c), Virginia

2021-05-04 · near Roanoke, Roanoke (c), Virginia

Event narrative

Rain amounts between 1.5 and 1.75 inches fell from a thunderstorm within a 45 minute period across portions of the downtown area in the City of Roanoke. Runoff from this rainfall resulted in about three feet of standing water near the intersection of Salem Avenue and 1 1/2 Street. At least one car became stranded in the flood waters, though it is unknown if the occupant(s) required rescue. The road was reopened to traffic after the flood waters receded.

Wider weather episode

A large thunderstorm complex moved east from the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys across southwest Virginia. The system caused dozens of trees to be toppled across the region. Heavy rainfall from these storms also caused localized flooding in the City of Roanoke, where rainfall rates were in excess of 4 inches per hour at one point, between a 5-year and 10-year rainfall event per NOAA Atlas 14 Point Frequency Estimates. Rainfall amounts across the City of Roanoke ranged from 1.50 to 1.75 inches, not unusual for thunderstorm activity, but still enough to cause localized flooding given the more urbanized nature of the impacted area.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.2726, -79.9437)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 960023. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.