CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Central and southern West Virginia is bracing for the potential of more high water. Forecasters say moisture is moving up into the state from Tennessee and Kentucky and will be met by a cold front from the northwest. The pattern will be unsettled and could create downpours according to Michael Charnick, Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston.
“We’re going to have a threat for drenching downpours and potential flooding,” said Charnick. “The thunderstorm threat is going to be from the central portion of the state off to the east, but we could see some hail and damaging wind gusts. But the real threat is heavy rain, localized downpours, and potential flash flooding.”
Charnick said the localized downpours will be the issue. The upper air disturbance could create the conditions for storms to train through very localized areas bringing one heavy shower after another. The system has the potential to put down a lot of rain into a small area in a relatively short period of time. The result of training is typically catastrophic in the steep hills of southern West Virginia.
“When you get a thunderstorm or even some heavy downpours passing over the same location that can aggravate the local streams and creeks,” said Charnick. “Also, the area has already been very wet over the last week or so, so it’s only going to take about an inch of rain to cause some flooding problems.”
The system facing West Virginia late Monday and overnight Tuesday has the potential to put down well over an inch of rain in a short amount of time almost anywhere in the central or southern counties.
A flash flood watch has been issued for Cabell, Wayne, Lincoln, Putnam, Kanawha, Mingo, Logan, Boone, Clay, McDowell, Wyoming, Raleigh, Fayette, Nicholas, Webster, Pocahontas, and Randolph Counties until Tuesday morning.