CHARLESTON, W.Va.– It’s been less than a week since the state dealt with high water from a deluge of rain and melting snow. Conditions haven’t changed much and the state is about to get another severe slug of rainfall from the south.
The National Weather Service has nearly the entire state under a flood watch from Saturday morning through late Sunday night.
The weather service has placed the Coal River at Tornado in Kanawha County and the Guyandotte River at Branchland in Lincoln County along with the Tug Fork River at Kermit in Mingo County have been placed under flood warnings. Moderate flooding in Kanawha, Boone and Lincoln counties is in the forecast for the Coal with minor flooding for the Guyandotte and Tug Fork.
“It looks like that area to the southwest, south of Charleston and down into the coalfields, everybody is going to get rain, but that appears to be the heaviest,” said C.W. Sigman, director of Emergency Operations for Kanawha County.
He’s been on the phone with the National Weather Service and working to coordinate preparations with the state Office of Emergency Services. The rainfall is expected to move into West Virginia in a front which originated in the Gulf States and moved north. It’s expected to hit another moisture laden front from the Midwest right over West Virginia and Ohio and pour. Forecasters indicated there could be two inches or more of rain across a wide areas of West Virginia in the Saturday-Sunday time frame.
Creeks and streams are still swollen from last week when they crested above flood stage in some locations. Officials said it wouldn’t take much to push them out of their banks again. Along with the creeks and streams there is a concern this round could carry the threat of river flooding as well.
“I think they’re going to be vulnerable and it’s something we need to watch out for,” Sigman said.
Weather hazards to be on the lookout for these next few days will be a Wind Advisory along the mountains through this evening and widespread flooding concerns with renewed heavy rainfall arriving in time for the weekend. pic.twitter.com/TKFJsNexc0
— NWS Charleston, WV (@NWSCharlestonWV) February 13, 2025
The Kanawha River flooding could back up and create problems in backwater areas like Dry Branch in eastern Kanawha County. The South Charleston Community Center typically gets flooded in such situations. Other areas of the floodplain along the Kanawha be in for problems. Sigman anticipated the Coal River watershed might see flooding since much of the rain will pass through the headwaters in Boone County and travel north into Kanawha County near St. Albans where it should be backing up as well.
However, it’s not just the Kanawha and Coal rivers. The Ohio River could become an issue as the rainfall drains downstream.
The City of Huntington is preparing for the Ohio River to exceed its banks. It could crest somewhere between 48 and 50 feet on Tuesday.
The Huntington Stormwater Utility and the Huntington Sanitary Board will install floodwall gates at the 10th and 12th street floodwall openings at Harris Riverfront Park on Friday.
Along the banks of the Greenbrier and New rivers, emergency officials on Thursday were trying to encourage people to move campers, RV’s, and any other mobile equipment to higher ground.
“We’ve contacted floodplain management. We’ve asked them to contact folks that have campers just to get them moved out of the way. That way if the water does get up they won’t become an issue downstream,” said Don Havens, Director of Emergency Services in Greenbrier County.
The State Fair of West Virginia has opened up its parking area to allow owners to temporarily store campers on the lot and out of harm’s way until the danger is over. Similar parking is being offered for RV’s at the Alderson City Park in Greenbrier County and at the John Henry Park in Summers County.
“There’s a potential for the Greenbrier River in Alderson and depending on the rain, there’s potential for small creeks and stream flooding. A lot of it depends on how much rain we get and how much snow melts off up north of us,” said Havens.