Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 29, 1994 TAG: 9403290053
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The flood watch that the National Weather Service issued Sunday night for Southwest Virginia was extended through Monday night. A flood watch means that flooding is possible but not yet certain. Flood warnings are issued when flooding is imminent or has occurred.
The weather service said that by 6 p.m. Monday, more than 2 inches of rain had fallen in the Roanoke Valley from the time the storm began early Sunday. The New River Valley had almost 3 inches, with Mountain Lake in Giles County reporting 4.60 inches of rain.
Mike Thacker, a reservoir superintendent with Appalachian Power Co., said Smith Mountain Lake should rise up to 1 foot above its normal elevation by today.
Thacker said Apco, which owns Smith Mountain Dam, is trying to reduce flooding downstream by slowing the lake's output.
He said if the rain ends soon, people with property on or near the lake shouldn't have any problems. "But if the lake rises more than a foot, people with boats in a boathouse with a roof, for example, might have some damage."
The weather service expected another one-fourth to one-half inch by early today.
Laura Bullock, community affairs coordinator for the Virginia Department of Transportation's Salem district, said a combination of winter storm damage and spring rain has caused many roads to flood and a few to be closed.
"There's been a lot of brush down from the ice storms [that is] clogging up drain pipes, so we're trying to clear that as quickly as possible."
Bullock said while many low roads or bridges have water over them, only a few roads have had to be closed. Five in Pulaski were closed, one in Patrick County and one in Roanoke County.
But this area has seen much worse flooding in springs past.
"This is not even close to the spring of '92, where we had $8 million damage to roads," Bullock said.
by CNB