Flash Flood — Lynchburg (c), Virginia

2021-06-11 · near Lyh Ivy Hill Arpt, Lynchburg (c), Virginia

Event narrative

Between 2.5 and 3.5 inches of rain fell from a slow-moving thunderstorm across the Blackwater Creek watershed during a 90-minute period. Rainfall rates were observed to 2 to 3 inches per hour during much of this event. This caused flooding along Blackwater Creek, which caused water to enter apartments along Sandusky Drive. Multiple residents of these apartments were forced to evacuate until the water receded. In addition, an automobile became stranded in the flood water along Greenwood Drive where it crosses Blackwater Creek. No injuries were reported and the occupants were able to escape the flooded vehicle and move to a safe location.

Wider weather episode

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.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.3882, -79.1957)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 968036. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.