A Flash Flood Warning is active right now across the tri-state corridor where Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia meet — covering Boyd and Greenup counties in Kentucky, Gallia and Lawrence counties in Ohio, and Cabell, Jackson, Kanawha, Mason, Putnam, Roane, and Wayne counties in West Virginia. The National Weather Service office in Charleston, WV reports Doppler radar and automated gauges showing thunderstorms have dropped 1.5 to 2.5 inches of rain, with flash flooding ongoing or expected to begin shortly — including along stretches of Interstates 64, 77, and 79.
This is a live snapshot as of 5:08 AM PDT (8:08 AM EDT), Sunday, September 20, 2026. Conditions change fast — always verify with the National Weather Service for your specific county or ZIP code.
Tri-State Corridor (KY / OH / WV) — Flash Flood Warning
The National Weather Service in Charleston, WV has continued a Flash Flood Warning in effect until 9:30 AM EDT this morning. The warning was issued at 7:52 AM EDT and covers northern Boyd and southeastern Greenup counties in Kentucky; southwestern Gallia and Lawrence counties in Ohio; and northern Cabell, northern Kanawha, southwestern Roane, Jackson, southern Mason, Putnam, and northern Wayne counties in West Virginia.
Detection is radar and gauge indicated: at 7:52 AM EDT, Doppler radar and automated rain gauges indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the warned area. Between 1.5 and 2.5 inches of rain have fallen, with an additional 0.5 to 1 inch possible in the warned area. The hazard, per the NWS: flash flooding caused by thunderstorms.
Expected impacts, from the alert: flash flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses, as well as other poor-drainage and low-lying areas.
This warning names specific highways that will experience flash flooding:
- Interstate 77 in West Virginia between mile markers 109 and 148
- Interstate 64 in West Virginia between mile markers 1 and 8, and again between mile markers 10 and 46
- Interstate 79 between mile markers 11 and 30
That highway detail is the operational warning inside the warning: this is an urban and transportation-corridor flood event, not just creeks and hollers. Low-water underpasses, interchange ramps, and drainage-poor frontage roads along those stretches are the spots that go under first.
Source: NWS Charleston WV office page and the full NWS alert text.
Stay safe: flooding on the roads this morning
The NWS instruction is the one that matters most, and it is blunt: turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads — most flood deaths occur in vehicles. With named interstate stretches under the warning, treat every underpass and low interchange on I-64, I-77, and I-79 through the corridor as suspect until the water is gone. Be aware of your surroundings and do not drive on flooded roads.
If water reaches your home:
- Stay out of standing water where electricity may be present. Treat every wet room as live until you know otherwise.
- Stay out of the basement until the water recedes and power is confirmed off.
- Photograph everything before you touch anything. Wide shots of every room, close-ups of waterlines and damaged contents — documentation is the difference between a clean claim and a disputed one.
- Then call a local restoration contractor. Water left sitting doesn’t wait: saturated drywall, subflooring, and insulation start a second wave of damage within a day, and mold risk rises sharply within 24 to 48 hours.
Report flooding to the National Weather Service at the toll-free number 800-401-9535, when you can do so safely — it helps forecasters keep warnings accurate for your neighbors.
What this means for restoration teams
An eleven-county radar-and-gauge-indicated flash flood warning spanning three states, with 1.5 to 2.5 inches already down and another half inch to an inch possible, is a multi-market water-intrusion event. The damage profile across Boyd, Greenup, Gallia, Lawrence, Cabell, Jackson, Kanawha, Mason, Putnam, Roane, and Wayne counties: flash flooding of small creeks and streams into finished basements and crawlspaces; urban flooding through floor drains, egress wells, and ground-level entries; and — the signature of this particular alert — highway-corridor flooding along I-64, I-77, and I-79, which puts commercial frontage, warehouses, and light-industrial buildings in the impact zone alongside homes.
Expect the call mix to skew toward interior water intrusion, saturated drywall and insulation, standing water in basements and mechanical rooms, and sewage backup in low-lying areas. In the urbanized parts of Kanawha and Cabell counties especially, watch for commercial calls: flooded parking structures, ground-floor retail, and building mechanical rooms sit low and flood first when storm drains overwhelm.
The play for contractors across the tri-state area:
- Stage equipment now, in more than one market. Extraction units, dehumidifiers, and air movers pre-positioned before the 9:30 AM EDT expiry — this warning’s footprint is too wide for a single warehouse to serve without planning.
- Keep an on-call rotation through the morning and beyond. Water-intrusion calls typically start within hours of water receding and keep coming for days as people discover damage.
- Watch the interstates on dispatch. Flooded stretches of I-64, I-77, and I-79 can turn a 20-minute drive into an hour — route crews around the named mile-marker stretches and confirm clearance before committing a crew to the far side.
- Capture address, water source, and affected areas on the first call. Ask: where did the water enter, how deep, and is the power on or off?
- Field discipline: photo-document before mitigation, moisture-map every affected room. Keep the homeowner’s (or property manager’s) payment responsibility clear in writing before work starts — commercial clients in the corridor will want paper trails as much as homeowners do.
Local emergency contacts
Verified from the NWS alert itself: report flooding to the National Weather Service toll-free at 800-401-9535, when you can do so safely. For county-level emergency management, check your county’s emergency management page or dial 911 for life-threatening emergencies. This post does not list unverified county numbers — when seconds matter, 911 and the NWS line above are the two numbers that always work.
FEMA & federal assistance
If this morning’s flooding damages your home or business, federal help may be available. The FEMA Helpline is 1-800-621-3362 (7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time, 7 days a week). You can also apply at DisasterAssistance.gov or through the FEMA mobile app, and find recovery centers at fema.gov/drc.
Basic eligibility generally requires U.S. citizenship or qualified status, identity verification, proof of occupancy or ownership, and unmet needs not covered by insurance. Apply as soon as it’s safe to do so — and remember that FEMA assistance is a bridge, not a replacement for insurance. Photograph everything before cleanup begins.
Looking ahead
When this warning expires at 9:30 AM EDT, watch the water, not the clock. Flash-flood events across this terrain keep creeks rising after the rain stops, and ponding in urban and low-lying areas can linger through the morning. The named interstate stretches merit a re-check before midday travel — standing water in underpasses doesn’t need a warning to be dangerous. The NWS will update the warning picture as conditions change; if flooding persists along the corridor, expect extensions rather than an all-clear.
For restoration contractors, the demand window opens as water recedes and stays open for days: calls begin within hours and keep coming as property owners discover damage in rooms and buildings they don’t check daily. An eleven-county, three-state footprint means a long tail — the contractors who document first, extract fast, and communicate clearly will be busy through the week.
Sources & how to verify
- Full NWS alert — Flash Flood Warning, Charleston WV
- NWS Charleston, WV office page — active warnings and radar for the area
To verify for your own county or ZIP code: enter it at weather.gov, or check your nearest NWS office page for active alerts. Warning polygons update faster than news articles — the NWS page is the source of truth.
This post is for informational purposes and is not an official weather warning. Always follow instructions from local authorities and the National Weather Service.
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