Weather Alert in Virginia

Recent Locations: Spotsylvania, VA  

Flash Flood Warning issued June 17 at 2:56AM EDT until June 17 at 8:30AM EDT by NWS Blacksburg VA

AREAS AFFECTED: Franklin, VA

DESCRIPTION: At 256 AM EDT, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain in Rocky Mount. Between 2 and 6 inches of rain have fallen. Flooding impacts will continue, but no additional rainfall is expected. Flash flooding is already occurring. HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms. SOURCE...Radar. IMPACT...Flash flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as other poor drainage and low-lying areas. Some locations that will experience flash flooding include... Rocky Mount... Boones Mill... Ferrum... Callaway... Wirtz... Burnt Chimney... Western Smith Mountain Lake... This includes the following streams and drainages... Gills Creek, Blackwater River, Doe Run, Dillons Mill Branch, Boothe Creek, Coles Creek, Little Creek, Furnace Creek, Hatchet Creek and Little Chestnut Creek.

INSTRUCTION: Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the dangers of flooding. Stay away or be swept away. River banks and culverts can become unstable and unsafe. In hilly terrain there are hundreds of low water crossings which are potentially dangerous in heavy rain. Do not attempt to cross flooded roads. Find an alternate route. Rainfall of more than five inches in similar storms has been associated with an increased risk of landslides and rockslides. If you live on a mountainside or in a cove at the base of a mountain, especially near a stream, be ready to leave in advance of the storm or as quickly as possible should rising water, moving earth, or rocks threaten. Consider postponing travel along mountain roads during periods of heavy rainfall. When it is safe to do so, please send your reports of flooding, including mudslides or flooded roads, to the National Weather Service by calling toll free at 1...8 6 6...2 1 5...4 3 2 4. Reports and pictures can also be shared on the National Weather Service Blacksburg Facebook page and on Twitter.

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Weather Topic: What is Rain?

Home - Education - Precipitation - Rain

Rain Next Topic: Shelf Clouds

Precipitation in the form of water droplets is called rain. Rain generally has a tendency to fall with less intensity over a greater period of time, and when rainfall is more severe it is usually less sustained.

Rain is the most common form of precipitation and happens with greater frequency depending on the season and regional influences. Cities have been shown to have an observable effect on rainfall, due to an effect called the urban heat island. Compared to upwind, monthly rainfall between twenty and forty miles downwind of cities is 30% greater.

Next Topic: Shelf Clouds

Weather Topic: What is Sleet?

Home - Education - Precipitation - Sleet

Sleet Next Topic: Snow

Sleet is a form of precipitation in which small ice pellets are the primary components. These ice pellets are smaller and more translucent than hailstones, and harder than graupel. Sleet is caused by specific atmospheric conditions and therefore typically doesn't last for extended periods of time.

The condition which leads to sleet formation requires a warmer body of air to be wedged in between two sub-freezing bodies of air. When snow falls through a warmer layer of air it melts, and as it falls through the next sub-freezing body of air it freezes again, forming ice pellets known as sleet. In some cases, water droplets don't have time to freeze before reaching the surface and the result is freezing rain.

Next Topic: Snow

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