BUCKHANNON, W.Va. — Waterways around north central West Virginia continue to swell after rapid rainfall brought rivers, creeks, and streams out of their banks overnight.
By Wednesday afternoon, most of the concern lay with large bodies near towns battered by storms and already dealing with flood conditions.
“The biggest issues are on some of the larger main stems, and that would be the West Fork River, so I’m talking the Clarksburg area; also, the Buckhannon River at Buckhannon and down at Hall (Road); and then, finally, on the Tygart Valley River in and around the Philippi area,” National Weather Service hydrologist Nick Webb said.
The Buckhannon River remains the most affected, with its crest reaching major flood stage at over 26 feet. That height caused large amounts of water to rush into the surrounding area.
“At 26 feet, the impacts are major flooding in and around Buckhannon. The business factory across from the Hall Road Bridge and the gauge begins to flood. At 25 feet, we have several streets, homes, and businesses along the river flood,” Webb said.
The Buckhannon River is believed to be undergoing a “long crest” with the water remaining at its peak for an extended period of time. NWS cannot yet confirm the height of the Buckhannon River’s crest because of an inoperable gauge, but it did reach major flood stage before the malfunction.
“The gauge has malfunctioned, so I don’t have a good handle on what it’s actually reading, but it did get over major flood stage before it started having issues, I’m guessing with debris,” Webb said.
The West Fork River is projected to crest at more than 18 feet, crossing the threshold for major flood stage, while the Tygart Valley River is believed to have crested around moderate height around midday Wednesday. The Tygart Valley River should recede below flood level Wednesday evening, with the West Fork River doing the same shortly after.
“That is still slowly rising. Like I said, we are forecasting a crest over the next few hours over the major category of 18 feet. We have that currently forecasted to drop back below flood stage, it looks like, overnight Wednesday,” Webb said.