Power Outage in Buckhannon, WV

Numerous areas around the county observed trees and power line damage. Nearly 13,000 residents were without power for a time as a result.

Trees and power lines were blown down around Rock Cave and Buckhannon, resulting in widespread power outages in the county. The Buckhannon Airport measured a 56 mph wind gust just before midnight on the 3rd.

A tree was blown down onto Old Elkins Road near the town of Buckhannon. In Rock Cave, a tree and a power line were blown down.

In Arlington, several trees were blown down onto power lines.

Power also went out as the thunderstorm passed.

Trees were blown onto power lines.

Trees were blown down. One tree damaged a garage and a power pole.

Trees fell onto power lines.

Trees were blown down across roads and power lines. House porches were damaged.

The remnants of Hurricane Ida surged into West Virginia on the first day of September and interacted with a stalled frontal boundary near the area. This inflicted heavy rainfall across the state and resulted in multiple instances of flash flooding, especially in Barbour County where multiple reports of flooded basements occurred. High water issues arose on several heavily trafficked roadways in Central and Northern West Virginia, which prompted temporary road closures. The highest rainfall totals occurred in Randolph County of 4.5 inches, but a notable 2 to 3.5 inches of rain was also observed in Upshur County, where a multitude of flash flooding events occurred. ||In Clay County, a surge of strong winds that occurred within the remnants of Ida resulted in several trees and power lines to be blown down in the town of Clay and Big Otter.

A severe ice storm occurred across a narrow east to west band of counties. The severe ice continued west, into southeast Ohio and northeast Kentucky. Ice from freezing rain accumulated 1 to 3 inches on power lines and trees. The precipitation then ended as snow on the 17th. The added weight from the ice, broke limbs and snapped the tops off thousands of trees. Other trees were uprooted or left leaning at precarious angles. The fallen trees blocked many roads. Power outages were widespread, and lasted for more than 3 days. Refrigerated frozen foods thawed and spoiled. Phone and water services were also interrupted. The Red Cross opened shelters. One gas station in Ravenswood wired up a borrowed generator and pumped over 600 gallons of kerosene in less than 24 hours. Nearly 25,000 gallons of bottled water were distributed. A state forester said, "the severity of damage varied a lot, with some hillsides escaping major damage, while neighboring slopes had nearly all the tree tops snapped off by the ice". A Jackson County commissioner said, " This is really the worst I've ever seen here". The diverse and complex storm, that brought this severe ice, also caused the flooding rains in the southwestern part of the state, the heavy snow in the north, and even a prolong period of sleet to some counties. A state of emergency was declared by Governor Wise on the 16th. Wise requested federal monetary assistance due to the flooding, severe ice, and snow removal. A major disaster declaration was granted by President Bush. See FEMA disaster number 1455 for details on county assistance.