CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The National Weather Service says it was the classic “training” of thunderstorms that dumped several inches of rain on Spencer and surrounding areas Thursday that caused flash flooding.
Charleston NWS Meteorologist Ken Batty told MetroNews Friday the storms lined up along the southern end of the front moved through central West Virginia from about 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. Thunderstorm followed thunderstorm in parts of Jackson, Roane, Calhoun, Clay and Webster counties.
“In an hour’s time–we were probably getting about an inch and a half (of rain) in about an hour to an hour and a half. That’s how hard it was coming down,” Batty said.
A second round of storms came through about noon and Batty said those did more to keep the water levels up for longer than normal.
An official NWS observer in Spencer had the rain amount at 2.8 inches but Batty said it was probably more in other areas.
“Folks don’t have rain gauges in everybody’s backyard. Looking at our radar estimates, we can infer there were probably some amounts at just over three inches,” Batty said.
The National Weather Service did issue a flash flood watch for several counties Wednesday including Roane County. Batty said they thought the area could handle an inch of rain but not much more than that.
Batty said there could be more storms next week but the growth of vegetation and the strong June sun can work together to minimize the impact of heavy rain.
“If we can get a few dry days,” Batty said.