The unusual pattern of weather events that culminated in the disastrous flood of 1955 began with one of the hottest and driest summers Norfolk had ever seen. An observer at the Norfolk 2SW weather station wrote during the first week of August: All local streams have ceased to flow. Foliage is browning, wilting and falling on exposed ridges and rocky slopes. Two weeks later back-to-back tropical storms, the remnants of Hurricanes Connie and Diane, brought unprecedented rainfall as Norfolk was deluged with 23 inches of rain, setting the stage for the Great Flood of August 19, 1955. As the Blackberry River overflowed its banks and rampaged down Greenwoods Road, houses, bridges, and trees were washed away, along with two miles of Route 44 near West Norfolk, pictured above.

—Ann Havemeyer

Photo courtesy of the Norfolk Historical Society.