[4] On June 23, 2016, thunderstorms brought torrential rain to much of West Virginia, resulting in accumulations of up to 10 in (250 mm) in 12–24 hours.

According to meteorologists at the National Weather Service, this rainfall qualifies as a 1,000 year event for parts of Kanawha, Fayette, Nicholas, Summers and Greenbrier counties.

This is our Katrina.In Kanawha County, heavy rains washed out a bridge leading to a shopping center near Interstate 79 in Elkview, stranding approximately 500 people for nearly 24 hours.

[19] On June 27, it was announced that two people on a camping trip in Greenbrier County, who were thought to have been swept away in a camper and presumed dead in the flooding, had been found alive.

[9] A volunteer firefighter and other residents of White Sulphur Springs used front-end loaders and other heavy machinery to move through debris-laden floodwaters during the overnight of June 23–24 to save 60 people.

[15] On June 25, President Barack Obama declared West Virginia a major disaster area, ordering aid to assist victims of the floods in Kanawha, Greenbrier and Nicholas counties.

[14] On June 28, Tomblin requested the disaster area be expanded to include Clay, Fayette, Monroe, Pocahontas, Roane, Summers and Webster counties.

[9] In Fayette County, where there were reports of looters, the sheriff warned would-be thieves that citizens were legally armed and ready to protect what they had left.

"[24] In unaffected parts of the state including Morgantown[25] and Martinsburg,[26] residents collected items to donate to the flood-ravaged areas.

The Greenbrier Resort, where the tournament is played, was closed indefinitely,[14][27] though available rooms were offered free-of-charge to flood victims in need of shelter.

[31] A 2018 report by FEMA on lessons learned suggests that this sort of rain event and flooding may occur more frequently than has previously been expected.