Heavy Rain in Lynchburg (c) County, Virginia

An automated personal weather station (Weather Underground: KVALYNCH81) recorded 3.21 inches of rain from a thunderstorm during a 90-minute period. This is estimated to be around an 100-year rainfall event per NOAA Atlas 14 Point Precipitation Frequency estimates.

Widely scattered thunderstorms developed during the afternoon of June 11th in an environment of strong afternoon heating as temperatures warmed into the low to mid 80s ahead of a backdoor cold front draped across northern Virginia. CAPE values were in excess of 2,000 J/Kg and Precipitable Water values were observed to be in the 1.8 to 1.9 inch range. Weak atmospheric winds resulted in slow storm motion. The combination of deep instability and abundant moisture resulted in storms producing high rainfall rates of 2 to locally 5 inches per hour, with 1-hour rainfall totals exceeding 3.2 inches near the City of Lynchburg. This rainfall is a 100-year event per NOAA Atlas 14 Point Precipitation Frequency estimates. One swift water rescue was reported in the City of Lynchburg when a vehicle was stranded in the floodwaters from Blackwater Creek. No injuries were reported.