Cooler temperatures are forecast for the Midwest and portions of the Eastern U.S. early this week as a cold front progresses through. Some light snow accumulations may be possible in parts of the Upper Midwest, Central Appalachians and Northeast. Gusty winds will bring elevated fire weather conditions in southern Kansas, southwest Missouri and Oklahoma Tuesday. Read More >
Overview
From Wednesday through Friday (6/9-11), an upper shortwave slowly approached the area from the west before crossing the area late Friday into early Saturday morning. At the surface, a cold front remained just to the north of the area on Wednesday. That front crossed the Lower MD Eastern Shore on Thursday before stalling in the vicinity of the Virginia Northern Neck late Thursday through midday Friday. The front finally crossed the remainder of the area from Friday afternoon through the first part of Friday night. The pre-frontal environment was characterized by fairly deep south to southwesterly flow, which was responsible for transporting anomalous amounts of moisture toward the area. Precipitable water values were around 2.0-2.1" from Wednesday through Friday before slowly falling after the cold frontal passage.
On Wednesday and Thursday, scattered to numerous afternoon/evening showers and thunderstorms resulted in multiple instances of flooding, including (in total) over 20 water rescues in the City of Richmond. However, the worst of the flooding occurred from Friday morning into the afternoon across the Virginia Northern Neck. Showers and thunderstorms with torrential rainfall kept developing and slowly training along that stalled front (thanks in part to the very weak steering flow). The heaviest showers/storms slowly moved south across the area during the afternoon and evening, roughly following the cold front. This prompted additional Flash Flood Warnings for parts of central VA. In total, some areas in the VA Northern Neck received ~10 inches of rain! Also, there was a dam failure at Chandlers Mill Pond just west-southwest of Montross, VA. This resulted in a water rescue on Peach Grove Lane (near Chandlers Mill Pond). In addition, Flash Flood Warnings were issued for the City of Richmond for three consecutive days! See the Rainfall section for more details regarding specific rain totals. The Environment section contains images related to the meteorological setup of the event.
Selected Flash Flood Reports
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON... ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... ..REMARKS.. 0501 PM FLASH FLOOD 3 ENE DOWNTOWN RICHMOND 37.54N 77.43W 06/09/2021 CITY OF RICHMOND VA 911 CALL CENTER MULTIPLE REPORTS OF VEHICLES STUCK IN HIGH WATER IN THE CITY OF RICHMOND.
0517 PM FLASH FLOOD 2 NNE RICHMOND 37.50N 77.46W 06/09/2021 CITY OF RICHMOND VA BROADCAST MEDIA TWO CARS STRANDED IN HIGH WATER ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF RICHMOND NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF MAURY AND BLAKE STREET. REPORT FROM BROADCAST MEDIA TWITTER ACCOUNT.
0531 PM FLASH FLOOD 2 SE DOWNTOWN RICHMOND 37.52N 77.45W 06/09/2021 CITY OF RICHMOND VA PUBLIC VEHICLE STRANDED IN HIGH WATER AT 20TH AND BAINBRIDGE STREET. APPROXIMATELY 2 TO 3 FT OF WATER ON ROADWAY.
0445 PM FLASH FLOOD 2 NNE RICHMOND 37.51N 77.46W 06/09/2021 CITY OF RICHMOND VA FIRE DEPT/RESCUE TWO VEHICLES STRANDED IN HIGH WATER. WATER UP TO THE DOOR HANDLES.
1200 PM FLASH FLOOD 1 ESE OAK GROVE 38.18N 76.98W 06/11/2021 WESTMORELAND VA PUBLIC WATER OVER ROUTE 3 NEAR COLONIAL BEACH.
1205 PM FLASH FLOOD 1 NW TEMPLEMAN 38.08N 76.79W 06/11/2021 WESTMORELAND VA 911 CALL CENTER 911 CENTER IS REPORTING NUMEROUS ROADS FROM MONTROSS DOWN TO THE RICHMOND COUNTY LINE WERE FLOODING AND IMPASSIBLE.
0215 PM FLASH FLOOD CALLAO 37.97N 76.56W 06/11/2021 NORTHUMBERLAND VA DEPT OF HIGHWAYS VDOT CLOSING ROUTE 202 / HAMPTON HALL RD AT CALLAO. VEHICLES BECOMING STRANDED IN FLOOD WATERS.
0220 PM FLASH FLOOD 1 ENE GIBEON 37.97N 76.60W 06/11/2021 NORTHUMBERLAND VA 911 CALL CENTER VALLEY DRIVE FLOODED. VEHICLES STRANDED.
0250 PM FLASH FLOOD 2 WSW MONTROSS 38.08N 76.85W 06/11/2021 RICHMOND VA DEPT OF HIGHWAYS PEACH GROVE LANE CLOSED DUE TO THE DAM FAILURE AT CHANDLERS MILL POND. CAT POINT CREEK WILL THREATEN PEACH GROVE LANE.
0310 PM FLASH FLOOD 1 E CALLAO 37.97N 76.54W 06/11/2021 NORTHUMBERLAND VA EMERGENCY MNGR WATER RESCUE FROM A VEHICLE STRANDED IN ABOUT 3 FT OF WATER JUST SOUTH OF CALLAO.
0330 PM FLASH FLOOD MOLLUSK 37.73N 76.54W 06/11/2021 LANCASTER VA TRAINED SPOTTER WIDESPREAD FLASH FLOODING NEAR THE MOLLUSK AREA. ROUTE 354 IS COVERED WITH HIGH WATER AND DITCHES ARE OVERFLOWING IN MANY LOCATIONS.
0350 PM FLASH FLOOD 3 NW MONTROSE 37.54N 77.42W 06/11/2021 CITY OF RICHMOND VA FIRE DEPT/RESCUE WATER RESCUE ON MOSBY ST.
0350 PM FLASH FLOOD 2 WSW EAST HIGHLAND PAR 37.56N 77.42W 06/11/2021 CITY OF RICHMOND VA FIRE DEPT/RESCUE WATER RESCUE FROM A STRANDED VEHICLE ON MAGNOLIA ST.
0450 PM FLASH FLOOD 2 WSW MONTROSS 38.08N 76.85W 06/11/2021 RICHMOND VA BROADCAST MEDIA WATER RESCUE ON PEACH GROVE RD DUE TO FLOOD WATERS ON CAT POINT CREEK RESULTING FROM THE FAILURE OF CHANDLERS MILL POND.
0531 PM FLASH FLOOD 2 NNW PETERSBURG 37.23N 77.40W 06/11/2021 CITY OF PETERSBURG VA 911 CALL CENTER NUMEROUS ROADS AROUND PETERSBURG EXPERIENCING FLOODING AND ARE IMPASSABLE. ONE WATER RESCUE UNDERWAY.
0845 PM FLASH FLOOD CENTRAL HILL 36.91N 76.74W 06/11/2021 ISLE OF WIGHT VA 911 CALL CENTER FLOODING OF ROADS REPORTED NEAR ISLE OF WIGHT AND CENTRAL HILL. ROADS WERE BEING CLOSED IN THE AREA DUE TO FLOODING.
Photos
Selected Photos
Hampton Hall Road (Northumberland) (source: VDOT) |
Chandlers Mill Pond Flash Flooding (Westmoreland) (source: VDOT) |
Kissinger Springs Rd (Northumberland) (source: VDOT) |
High Water on Valley Dr (Northumberland) (source: VDOT) |
Radar Loop
Loop from 8 AM to 5 PM on 6/11 in ~30 minute increments. The green polygons represent Flash Flood Warnings. |
Map of Rainfall Reports
Environment
Upper Level synoptic summary.
6/9 12z/8 AM 500 mb Analysis | 6/10 12z/8 AM 500 mb Analysis | 6/11 12z/8 AM 500 mb Analysis |
Synoptic surface summary.
6/10 12z/8 AM WPC Surface Analysis | 6/11 12z/8 AM WPC Surface Analysis | 6/11 18z/2 PM WPC Surface Analysis | 6/11 8 PM WPC Surface Analysis |
Additional environmental data.
6/11 12z/8 AM Precipitable Water Values | Loop of Surface Observations on 6/11 from 5 AM to 8 PM in 3 hour increments | Loop of SBCAPE (to more easily see the progression of the cold front) from 2 AM to 8 PM on 6/11 in 3 hour increments |
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