Weather for Charleston, West Virginia
Lat: 38.35N, Lon: 81.63W
Wx Zone: WVZ015
CWA Used: RLX
West Virginia Drought MonitorThe West Virginia Drought monitor is a subset of the United States Monitor, issued every Thursday morning, based on drought conditions the previous Tuesday. The map below shows the current drought level around the state, and the percent of West Virginia land area in each drought level compared to the previous week. Read an explanation of the drought intensities and what they mean. |
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West Virginia Hydrologic Information StatementNote that if drought conditions are not being experienced, or in the case of river flooding or heavy rain, this statement may be used to indicate river flows or flood potential. 000 FGUS71 KRLX 041936 ESFRLX WINTER/SPRING FLOOD POTENTIAL OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 336 PM EDT THU APR 4 2013 KYC019-043-089-127-OHC009-053-079-087-105-115-127-163-167-VAC027- 051-WVC001-005-007-011-013-015-017-019-021-033-035-039-041-043- 045-047-053-059-067-073-075-079-081-083-085-087-091-095-097-099- 101-105-107-109-050745- 336 PM EDT THU APR 4 2013 ...THE FLOOD POTENTIAL IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR NORMAL... THE FLOOD POTENTIAL FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS WILL BE CONSIDERED NEAR NORMAL FOR THE STREAMS IN THE CHARLESTON HYDROLOGIC SERVICE AREA (HSA). NEAR NORMAL FLOOD POTENTIAL MEANS AT LEAST MINOR FLOODING IS POSSIBLE. THIS AREA INCLUDES EASTERN KENTUCKY...SOUTHEAST OHIO...BUCHANAN AND DICKENSON COUNTIES IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND MUCH OF WEST VIRGINIA. FOR THE LONG-RANGE RIVER OUTLOOKS AND THE PROBABILITY OF EXCEEDING FLOOD STAGE OR THE CHANCES OF FLOODING RELATIVE TO NORMAL AT SPECIFIC FORECAST POINTS DURING THE NEXT 90-DAYS...REFER TO WWW.WEATHER.GOV/OHRFC AND CLICK ON THE 90-DAY RIVER OUTLOOK IN THE LEFT HAND COLUMN. CLICK ON FLOOD CHC VS. NORMAL TO SEE THE RISK OF FLOODING WITH RESPECT TO NORMAL. FLOOD OUTLOOKS ARE ISSUED BIWEEKLY BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN THE WINTER AND EARLY SPRING TO SUMMARIZE BASIN HYDRO METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS AND TO ASSESS THE POTENTIAL FOR SPRING FLOODING. THE OUTLOOKS ARE BASED ON CURRENT AND EXPECTED CONDITIONS...REALIZING THAT ACTUAL CONDITIONS MAY CHANGE DURING THE OUTLOOK PERIOD. FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN ASSESSING FLOOD POTENTIAL ARE: WATER CONTENT OF THE SNOWPACK...THE WETNESS OF THE SOILS...WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAINFALL...HIGH STREAMFLOWS...AND RESERVOIR LEVELS AND ICE COVERAGE ON THE RIVERS. PRECIPITATION... PRECIPITATION WAS NORMAL OVER MUCH OF THE HSA DURING THIS WINTER. SOIL CONDITIONS... SOILS ARE WET OR MOIST. THIS CAN CAUSE EFFICIENT RUNOFF FROM ANY FUTURE RAIN. SNOW COVER AND SNOW WATER EQUIVALENT... A SNOW PACK OF UP TO 12 INCHES WAS MAINLY ACROSS THE HIGHEST ELEVATIONS OF THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS OF WEST VIRGINIA. SNOW WATER EQUIVALENTS WERE GENERALLY AN INCH OR LESS ON AVERAGE...WITH 1 TO 3 INCHES IN THE DEEPEST SNOW PACK. RESERVOIR CAPACITY... RESERVOIR LEVELS ARE NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. RIVER ICE CONDITIONS... HEADWATER RIVERS AND STREAMS HAVE NO ICE. RIVER FLOWS... RIVER FLOWS HAVE AVERAGED NEAR NORMAL ON ALL RIVERS. THE HYDROLOGIC OUTLOOK THROUGH THE NEXT TWO WEEKS... AN ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN WILL CONTINUE OVER THE REGION. THIS WILL GENERALLY BRING LIGHT TO MODERATE PRECIPITATION TO THE HSA. THIS WILL KEEP THE POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING AT NEAR NORMAL LEVELS. RAINFALL IS THE PRIMARY FACTOR LEADING TO FLOODING. HEAVY OR EXCESSIVE RAINFALL CAN CAUSE FLOODING ANY TIME OF THE YEAR EVEN WHERE THE FLOOD POTENTIAL IS BELOW NORMAL. $$ SIKORA |