Power Outage in Charleston, WV

Across the county, downed trees and power lines were observed throughout the afternoon and evening of April 1st while strong winds persisted. The Charleston airport measured a peak wind gust of 59 mph around 1:30 in the afternoon. Also around that time, the South Charleston City Hall suffered considerable structural damage as a rubber membrane on the roof of the building's annex area was caught by the wind. Nearly 100,000 households were without power that night into the next day as a result of the downed trees and power lines.

Multiple trees and power lines were downed near Charleston. The Charleston airport measured a 60 mph peak wind gust that afternoon.

Trees and a few power lines were blown down in the city of Charleston and the town of Cross Lanes.

A tree and several power lines were blown down on 2nd Avenue in Dupont City.

Power lines were blown down onto the roadway at the 3100 block of Greenbrier Street.

Several power outages occurred after trees fell onto power lines across the metro area.

A tree and power lines were knocked down, leaving several hundred households without power.

At the corner of Rutledge Road and Valley Grove Road in Charleston, a large tree was blown down and resulted in power outages across the area. Power lines were also downed nearby on Mill Creek road. Lightning struck a tree in Kanawha City which caused it to fall onto South Park Road.

Near the airport in the town of Sissonvile, a tree knocked down power lines at a residential home on Sissonville Drive.

Trees and power lines were brought down near the town of Wallace. Some of the power lines fell onto a car.

Trees and power lines were blown down in Elkview.

Trees blew over onto power lines near Pocatalico and caused numerous power outages in the area.

A NWS storm survey team determined a microburst occurred in the Tornado community. Nearly 100 trees were snapped or uprooted. The Big Bend Golf course was near the epicenter of the microburst and was hit especially hard, with dozen of trees (mostly pine) blown down. Several outbuilding also suffered minor damage. The course remained close for over a month while the damage was cleaned up. The rain gutters were blown off the fire station in Tornado, and several houses nearby suffered minor roof damage. Power was out in the area for over a day.

A tree was blown down along Big Coal Fork Road. The tree also brought down a power line.

A three foot diameter tree was blown down along 47th Street SE. The tree also brought down a nearby power line.

Gusts of 45 to 55 mph were measured across the county. This lead to power outages for several thousand households due to trees and power lines damaged by the winds.

A number of trees were downed across Kanawha County. Several of these fell across roads and power lines. At one point nearly 2000 households were without power in the county.

Trees and powerlines down.

Trees and power lines were blown down along Sand Plant Road.

Large branches were blown onto power lines along Price Street.

A tree fell onto power lines.

A man-made extension to a steep hill side was constructed and finished back in 2007. It was located at the end of the main runway at Yeager Airport. The large land fill allowed space for an engineered material arresting system for airplane safety. ||A huge section of that steep hill side came sliding down just after 11000E on the 12th. Through the night and into the early morning hours of the 13th, the slide continued to fan out in the hollow below. A church and 2 houses were destroyed by the slide. Power lines and poles were also destroyed.

Trees were blown down onto power lines along Chestnut Street.

Trees were blown down onto power lines.

Power lines were blown down across Interstate 64 and Goff Mountain Road. The roads were temporarily closed.

Trees were blown down onto power lines.

Trees were blown down onto power lines.

Several trees were knocked down. Some trees fell onto power lines.

Wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph brought down a few trees onto power lines. The strongest gust was 50 mph.

A few trees were blown down along Kanawha Turnpike, knocking down some power lines. One tree was 3 feet in diameter.

Trees were blown down onto power lines on Kearse Avenue.

Trees were blown down onto power lines along Hillcrest Road.

Trees were blown down onto power lines.

Large trees were blown down onto houses in the Kanawha City section of Charleston. A few vehicles were also destroyed. Additional power outages occurred.

Large trees were blown down onto houses in the Kanawha City section of Charleston. A few vehicles were also destroyed. Additional power outages occurred.

Poles and power lines fell near 57th and 58th Streets.

Trees fell onto power lines in the town and along Lens Creek. A tin roof was blown off a mobile home.

A few fallen tree branches and damaged power lines were scattered about the county. In one example, the wind knocked down a tree, snapped a power pole and took 2 power lines down in Charleston. Another fallen tree branch caused minor damaged to the roof of a house. Electricity was briefly lost to a maximum of 3,400 customers in Kanawha County.

Trees fell along Chestnut Road. Power lines were pulled down.

Trees were blown down onto power lines along Greenbrier Street.

Tree branches fell onto power lines on Oak Ridge Drive.

Trees fell onto power lines.

Trees fell onto power lines along Rose Lane Drive in Mink Shoals.

Several trees and large branches were blown down from the East End of Charleston on toward Kanawha State Forest. Some branches fell onto vehicles. The dark screen at the baseball field was shredded by the wind. ||A delayed direct death occurred in a freak accident about 2 hours after the storms had ended. A man, his 2 children, and his mom were traveling in a 4 door sedan near Kanawha State Forest just before 1900E. They had tried to attend a midweek church service, but the service was canceled due to a power outage. A large tree, weakened by the storm, fell off a hillside and directly onto their moving vehicle. The roof was smashed. The 62 year old mother was killed. She was the passenger in the front seat. The driver was seriously injured. The 2 children were not seriously hurt.

Trees fell onto power lines within the city.

Several trees were blown down, some fell onto power lines.

Trees fell onto power lines in East Bank.

Trees fell onto power lines.

Trees fell across power lines.

Trees fell on power lines.

Several trees were blown down, some onto power lines.

Trees fell onto power lines and roads. On Tyler Mountain Road, 2 miles north of Dunbar, a tree fell onto a vehicle. The occupant was temporarily trapped, but not injured.

Trees fell onto power lines.

Power lines were pulled down by fallen trees.

At least 40 locations had trees down on power lines. In South Charleston, a tree fell onto a house along Woodland Avenue. Louden Heights Road in Charleston was blocked by fallen trees. More than 25,000 customers lost electricity in the county.

Power lines were snapped by fallen trees and large branches.

Thunderstorm wind gusts, to around 45 mph, caused a tree to fall on a car in the Kanawha City section of town. An evergreen tree also fell onto power lines.

Trees were blown down in several locations within the city. A tree fell on a house on Ohio Street, and on a car along Monongalia Street. An evergreen tree fell into power lines at the Little League field in the Kanawha City section, causing a utility pole to fall.

Showers and strong to severe thunderstorms sprouted in the afternoon and evening of June 3rd as a backdoor cold front approached and then pushed across the area. One inch hail fell in the towns of Pennsboro and Middlebourne, and damaging wind gusts resulted in multiple downed trees in the Pennsboro, French Creek, and Rock Cave areas. A tree struck by lightning in Salem fell on power lines. Later in the evening, another tree was struck in Parkersburg and split in two. One intersection in Beckley also flooded due to heavy rain.

Deep mixing between a departing cold front and a secondary frontal passage supported gusty to strong winds across West Virginia to open up the month of April. Winds picked up in intensity during the late morning hours and peaked in the afternoon/early evening. 40-50 miles per hour gusts were common throughout the afternoon across West Virginia, with the strongest gust recorded occurring at a mesonet station in Snowshoe of 65 mph. All major airports in the region observed a peak wind gust above 50 miles per hour that day.||Hundreds of thousands of households in the state lost power by the afternoon time frame as a result of trees blowing down onto power lines. Around the same time the Charleston Yeager airport measured a peak wind gust of 59 miles per hour, the South Charleston City Hall suffered considerable structural damage as the roof was blown off a portion of the building. In Barbour County, parts of roofs were also blown off of homes. ||Winds finally began to subside after dark on the 1st as the disturbance departed into New England and high pressure built in from the west. However, the power restoration process extended into the next several days as utility companies began work on installing new power poles and lines.

Strong winds infiltrated the region on the afternoon of March 25th in the wake of a cold front. A tightened pressure gradient took residence over West Virginia during the early afternoon hours, which resulted in strong winds from aloft mixing down to the surface. Across West Virginia, the highest wind gusts that were observed occurred at the Clarksburg airport (64 mph) and at a mesonet station in Snowshoe (61 mph). Elsewhere, it was not uncommon to see winds between 45-55 mph through the course of the afternoon. ||These strong surface gusts, coupled with saturated grounds from previous rainfall, resulted in not only downed trees and power lines, but a few instances of roof damage. A local motor vehicle business in Bridgeport lost part of the roof awning that evening around the time the aforementioned 64 mph wind was observed in Clarksburg. In Roane County, strong winds destroyed a mobile home in the town of Colt Ridge, with multiple reports of additional roof damage within the neighborhood. In the midst of the strong winds, a man died after a tree fell on him in Cabell County as he attempted to secure items that were blowing in the wind.||Once the low pressure system quickly departed towards New England on the evening of March 25th, surface winds weakened.

A strong low pressure system passed north of the area on March 3rd in accompaniment with a surface cold front. Strong winds above the surface were able to mix down throughout the day outside of showers and thunderstorms, especially by the afternoon and evening timeframe. The Charleston airport measured a 60 mph wind gust around the peak of the afternoon and several other local airports reported strong to high winds. Winds began to diminish from west to east late on March 3rd, but prolonged gusts of 58 mph were observed along the West Virginia mountains into the morning hours of the 4th.||Downed trees and power lines were observed across West Virginia due to these strong winds. While most fell onto the nearby roadways, one tree in Wayne County fell onto a house in the town of Belpre. There was also an instance where a brush fire occurred in southeast Raleigh County as a result of downed power lines.

A slow moving cold front was the main culprit behind showers and storms that prevailed across West Virginia between July 21st and 23rd. Strong to severe storms thrived during the afternoon hours, and often caused blown down trees and power lines from damaging wind gusts.

A weak disturbance pressed into the Ohio Valley on July 8th, tapping into warm and muggy conditions permeating over West Virginia. This combination led to diurnally driven showers and thunderstorms that inflicted damaging wind gusts and heavy downpours in areas along the I-64 corridor. Multiple areas of downed trees and power lines were observed, as well as high water issues from Putnam County and eastward into the city of Charleston.

Ahead of a frontal boundary, a line of thunderstorms crossed through the Ohio Valley during the late afternoon of June 13th, moving into West Virginia during the evening hours. Hot temperatures during the day aided with providing plenty of afternoon heating for these storms to thrive as the system crossed through the region. Damaging winds were the main concern with this line of storms as it persisted across the Ohio Valley, however frequent lightning also accompanied these storms.||As this first line was exiting along southern West Virginia, a second line of storms formed along the lingering frontal boundary and pushed into the northern portion of the region during the night of the 13th. Damaging winds were again the main threat with this secondary line of storms. Following this line, yet another round of storms with damaging winds entered along the northwestern portions of the area during the early morning of June 14th as enough instability continued to be present across the area. A fourth line then passed through by the later morning hours of the 14th. ||The main impacts from these storms were the numerous trees and power lines that were blown down across the region. Multiple power outages occurred across West Virginia as a result.||Following the multiple rounds of storms, rises occurred on a few rivers across the forecast area. Isolated high water issues occurred along local roadways in Randolph and Harrison Counties, with a few roads becoming impassable for a brief period of time.

A low pressure system and its attendant cold front swept through West Virginia on the evening of June 8th, spreading showers and strong thunderstorms into the area. Some of these storms reached severe intensities, which resulted in numerous trees and power lines being blown down from strong winds. A few of the stronger thunderstorms also allowed for hail to fall as well as localized high water issues in Clay and Roane Counties. One storm in particular grew strong enough in Putnam County to inflict winds that resulted in a barn to be completely blown down.

A warm front, associated with a low pressure system approaching from the west of the area, moved from south to north across the Ohio Valley during the morning of March 23rd, providing rain showers to the area. The cold front, also associated with this system, then moved into the Ohio Valley during the afternoon and evening, ahead of which showers and strong thunderstorms formed. The strongest storms produced hail, the largest of which was 1.75 inches in Putnam County. Additionally, multiple trees were blown down across West Virginia, with one tree falling onto a power line.

Showers out ahead of a cold front moved into the Ohio Valley on the morning of March 6th. This cold front stalled along the western portion of the area during the afternoon. An axis of showers and a few thunderstorms set up along central and northern West Virginia ahead of this front. Moderate to heavy rain occurred at times, with some areas receiving multiple rain showers by that evening as a warm front lifted from the south, interacting with the stalled cold front. A few instances of high water over roads occurred throughout Kanawha County due to these repetitive rain showers.||A few instances of strong wind gusts also occurred throughout West Virginia during the afternoon of March 7th as a second cold front crossed through the area during the day. A few trees and some power lines were blown down by these gusty winds.

A complex winter storm brought a mixture of rain, sleet and freezing rain to most of the region, with snow in the mountains, on Sunday January 16th. The mixed precipitation changed to snow from west to east during the late afternoon into the evening and the snow fell heavily at times overnight and early Monday morning. As the parent storm system moved to our northeast, the snow became more showery in nature into Monday afternoon, with snow showers lingering in the mountains through Tuesday morning.||While the heaviest snow occurred in the West Virginia mountains, with 12 to 18 inches reported, another swath of heavy snow occurred up the Ohio River Valley region of West Virginia, where 6 to 10 inches occurred. For the rest of the state, generally 4 to 8 inches fell. The snow began wet and heavy, which caused power outages where the heaviest snow fell. Over 25,000 West Virginians were without power Monday morning.

A cold front approached the Ohio Valley along with a series of upper level disturbances, which allowed for showers and thunderstorms to develop across West Virginia on August 13th. Multiple trees and power lines were blown down that afternoon with substantial damage observed near Wallace in Kanawha County as a tree fell onto a trailer and a car. Minor flooding was also observed near the town of Danville.

A strong cold front in accordance with a passing low pressure system pressed into West Virginia on the evening of June 13th. Strong to severe thunderstorms accompanied the front, resulting in multiple instances of downed trees and power lines due to damaging wind gusts. Due to the combination of heavy downpours and multiple storms passing over the area that day, several counties observed flash flooding. The most notable events occurred in Gilmer County, where a large shed on a golf course was swept away by the rushing high water, and Pocahontas County, where a swift water rescue was conducted in the town of Frost.

A third winter storm in a short span of time impacted West Virginia with snow and freezing rain, this time on February 17th through the 18th. The low pressure system involved in this event prompted a band of heavy snow along the Ohio River on the evening of the 17th and continued into the day on the 18th. 3 to 6 inches of snow fell across Central and Northern West Virginia, with the highest accumulations falling in the Sutton Lake area of Braxton County.||Freezing rain fell in portions of southeastern West Virginia and down into Virginia and North Carolina. The ASOS located at the Beckley airport in Raleigh County reported 0.36 inches of flat ice from the freezing rain while a nearby CoCoRaHS observer in Shady Spring reported 0.18 inches of radial ice.||This active weather pattern hindered efforts to restore power across the Tri-State region from the previous winter storms and caused hazardous travel conditions across much of the region. The snow accumulating on top of ice from previous storms also caused additional tree damage and power outages. According to Appalachian Power, the weight of the snow and ice from these storms caused trees to collapse onto wires and transmission towers to buckle. An estimated 550 broken power poles needed to be replaced and roughly 2,400 spans of wire needed to be put back up.

A second ice storm impacted the Tri-State region of Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia within a span of a week. A low pressure system packed a punch with freezing rain and sleet overspreading the Ohio River Valley on the afternoon of the 15th, further contributing to deteriorating travel conditions. A few hundredths to a quarter of an inch of freezing rain was observed around the Charleston metro area while a quarter to half an inch of ice accumulation laid along the western borders of the state. Major power outages around the Huntington area and other portions of southwestern West Virginia were reported in response to ice laying along and eventually knocking down power lines, which would continue to take a toll on the area as a third Winter Storm arrived only three days later. With trees and powerlines down along the roadways, many ambulances were unable to reach the hospital with injured patients.

A high impact event affected West Virginia beginning on the morning of February 10th, as a wave of precipitation pressed into the area in response to a stationary boundary in close proximity. This resulted in a mixed bag of winter precipitation across the area, with significant ice and snowfall accumulations. Snowfall totals of 3 to 6 inches were observed to the north and east of Charleston, with 6 inches being reported 4 miles northeast of Rock Cave, WV. ||Ice accumulations greater than a quarter of an inch were observed throughout the southern portions of the state, with up to 0.33 inches of ice from freezing rain reported 2 miles south of Ceredo, West Virginia. This resulted in significant tree damage across the hard hit regions, with more than 45,000 customers in West Virginia losing power. The Huntington airport was shut down for a time on the 11th due to slippery runways and a power outage. The westbound lanes of I-64 were shut down during the morning commute on the 11th due to a tractor trailer sliding off the roadway near Nitro.

The tail end of a cold front in accompaniment with an upper level disturbance crossed through West Virginia on the 25th and resulted in wind damage across the state. Initial storm development was scattered, but then congealed into a line pushing south and eastward, resulting in locally damaging winds and a few instances of flash flooding. The most notable damage was to the video board of Marshall University's football stadium, but widespread downed trees and power lines were also observed.

Scattered and disorganized convection developed during prime afternoon heating hours on the 25th as temperatures ran 10 to 15 degrees above normal with increasing dew point values. One thunderstorm in particular in Kanawha County resulted in multiple tree damage and power outages across the Charleston metro. Storm motion was notably slow on this day, and in conjunction with high moisture levels heavy rain resulted in flash flooding to arise in Webster County.

In the wake of a frontal passage, strong synoptic winds prevailed on the afternoon of the 21st into the evening before tapering down. Widespread wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph were measured in the state. The highest gust was at Yeager airport in Kanawha County where the ASOS measured a 56 mph gust. Isolated power outages were caused by fallen trees and limbs.

An intense low pressure system crossed into the Ohio Valley during the early morning hours on the 13th, with a strong line of thunderstorms aligned along a surface cold front. Multiple areas saw tree and structural damage with these storms. A tightened pressure gradient formed over the state, inflicting strong synoptic winds outside of the thunderstorms. Numerous trees were blown down, knocking power out to multiple areas. Near Mt. Hope in NW Fayette County, a 50 foot section of brick wall collapsed at the municipal stadium. Other buildings sustained roof damage around Mt. Hope. Nearby, the Beckley ASOS gusted to 53 mph. Many personal and DOT weather stations measured gusts around 50 mph across the region.

A strong storm system moved through the Great Lakes on the 11th and 12th. Ahead of this system, temperatures on the afternoon of the 11th soared into the 70s and low 80s, driven by strong southerly winds. Gusts were regularly measured in the 40-50 mph range. A line of showers and thunderstorms developed in the lower Ohio River Valley along a cold front, and quickly raced eastward through the late afternoon and evening. By the time these got to the middle Ohio River Valley and central Appalachians, no lightning was present, but the convective showers were still packing gusty outflow winds, with lots of tree and utility damage reported. The actual cold front surged through late that night, with another round of 45-55 mph winds, causing more power outages.||Shortly after noon on the 11th, a tree fell onto a side-by-side ATV near Ashford in Boone County. A 14-year-old boy was fatally wounded, and his father and sister were injured. The ASOS at Charleston's Yeager Airport, which is about 13 miles from the incident site, measured gusts of 30-40 mph around the time of the incident. These were driven by the synoptic flow, not convective activity.

A strong low pressure system moved through the Great Lakes on the 26th and 27th. This pushed a cold front through the middle Ohio River Valley and central Appalachians during the afternoon and evening of the 27th. Very strong synoptic winds behind the front led to thousands of power outages across the central part of West Virginia. Widespread wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph were measured. The highest measured gust was near Snowshoe in Pocahontas County where a mesonet station measured a 67 mph gust. Most damage was limited to trees and power lines, however a column at the front of the Westmoreland Baptist Church in Huntington was toppled by the wind.

An upper level disturbance, tapping into moisture hovering over Central Appalachia, sparked showers and severe thunderstorms across northern West Virginia on the evening of August 20th. Damaging wind gusts were the primary result from these storms, resulting in many trees and power lines falling down.

A warm front lifted northward into West Virginia on the evening of the 23rd, promoting widespread showers and a few isolated thunderstorms due to the close proximity of an approaching cold front. Generally, 1 to 1.75 inches of rain fell between the evening of the 23rd and the morning of the 24th. This led to flooding across southern and western portions of the state.||Behind the cold front, very gusty winds developed with most areas seeing gusts of 40 to 45 knots. Stronger gusts were measured across the higher terrain of the northern mountainous counties. The ASOS at Elkins measured a 51 knot gust, and on the top of Snowshoe mountain, gusts of 60 to 75 knots were measured. Combined with the soggy ground, these winds led to widespread power outages due to downed trees and power lines. Tens of thousands of power customers lost power, and it took a couple days for all service to be restored.||In addition to the downed trees, more noteworthy damage occurred in Huntington, where some windows were broken in the Prichard Building, which stands 13 stories tall. Glass fell onto the road below, which was closed while crew cleaned up the glass.

A cold front crossed the middle Ohio River Valley and central Appalachians early on the the 6th. There was little to no lightning, but a line of showers just ahead of the front contained some strong wind gusts. The strongest winds occurred in a bowing shower segment that crossed from Wayne and Cabell Counties into Lincoln, Putnam and Kanawha Counties before fading out. This blew down trees and caused nearly 10,000 power outages across the southwestern part of the state. The 6th was Election Day, and generators had to be placed at some polling stations to run the voting equipment before power was restored. Yeager Airport measured the highest wind gust, 48 mph, with many other measurements topping out in the 35-45 mph range.

A strong cold front swept through the middle Ohio River Valley and central Appalachians on the 20th. This brought a round of gusty winds which led to scattered tree damage and power outages. One of the hardest hit counties was Kanawha, where over 14,000 customers lost power. The ASOS at Yeager Airport measured a wind gust of 45 mph. A home along Toledo Avenue in Kanawha City has some siding blown off due to the winds, and a home in South Charleston had a punctured roof after a tree fell on it. It took nearly two days for all the power outages to be fixed.||Several thousand power outages also occurred in Cabell, Logan, Lincoln, Mason, Putnam, Raleigh and Wayne Counties. The ASOS at Raleigh County Airport measured a gust of 49 knots.||AEP reported a total of 17 transmission lines were taken out in West Virginia, knocking multiple substation offline.

A rapidly deepening low off the Mid-Atlantic coast lead to very strong wind gusts on the 1st, and into the 2nd. As a trailing cold front moved through, a line of showers and thunderstorms developed, which also helped to mix down some of the stronger winds that were just off the surface.||A gust of 63 knots was measured near the top of Snowshoe Mountain in Pocahontas County.||Gusts up to 48 knots were measured across Kanawha County. This lead to power outages for several thousand households due to trees and power lines damaged by the winds.

A strong cold front moved through the middle Ohio River Valley and Central Appalachians late on the 18th and early on the 19th. Ahead of the front, in unseasonably warm air, a strong low level jet resulted in gusty winds during the late morning and afternoon. Additional strong wind gusts occurred in showers along and just ahead of the cold front as it surged through overnight.||Many wind gusts of 40 to 50 miles per hour were recorded, with a couple of 50-60 mile per hour gusts. For example, 58 mph was measured by the automated stations at Yeager Airport in Charleston and the Randolph County Airport in Elkins. Many trees were blown down, resulting in numerous power outages late on the 18th and into the 19th. In Kanawha County, one arching power line started a brush fire which burned 2-3 acres before crews could extinguish it.

A strong cold front moved across the West Virginia during the afternoon and evening of March 1. Strong storms had developed near this cold front well to the west the day before, and raced through the middle Ohio River Valley through the morning on the 1st as a severe squall line producing widespread damaging wind gusts. Heavy rainfall from training storms also produced flash flooding across northwestern West Virginia, which combined with the wet ground led to river and stream flooding late on the 1st through much of the 2nd. ||Tyler County was was one hot spot for flooding, where flash flood occurred on the morning of the 1st, followed by flooding on Middle Island Creek. The river gauge at Little on Middle Island Creek reached 20 feet, or major flood stage, late on the 1st. Flood stage is 14 feet. The creek remained above flood stage until late afternoon on the 2nd. Many roads as well as some private cabins flood at levels around 20 feet.||Overnight, from the 1st to the 2nd, non-thunderstorm, post cold front winds swept across north central West Virginia resulting in some isolated tree and power line damage.

Showers along a cold front moved eastward across southern Ohio and northern Kentucky during the early evening. The showers strengthened as they crossed the Ohio River into West Virginia. Strong winds aloft were mixed down in the showers, leading to gusty outflow winds. There was some minor damage from the strong winds, including a newly installed roof blown from a brick building in Huntington. The debris fell onto a house and car next door. In Kanawha County, a number of trees were downed. Several fell across roads and power lines. Nearly 2000 folks lost power. No lightning was detected. Generally 35 to 45 mph winds were recorded by automated weather sensors across western and central West Virginia.

A cold front whipped through during the evening with only light showers and some graupel. The front was associated with a strong flow aloft and falling temperatures. The rain showers changed quickly to snow showers over the central mountains. ||Wind gusts of 45 to 55 mph were common during the late afternoon into the evening. A few stronger wind gusts occurred. The strongest measured gust was on the mountain at Snowshoe with 65 mph at 2035E. The Clarksburg airport in Bridgeport measured 61 mph at 1921E. The Charleston airport had a gust to 58 mph at 1909E. ||There were no injuries. Minor damage and power outages occurred. Tree limbs and blown debris partially brocked roads. Between 1,000 and 2000 customers lost electricity in each of these counties, Kanawha, Cabell, Wayne, Lincoln, and Logan. Lesser numbers of customers were affected in other counties.

A strengthening low pressure system tracked east into northern Ohio and the Lake Erie vicinity by the early evening. Temperatures had peaked in the mid 60s to lower 70s during the early and mid afternoon. The powerful cold front, associated with the storm system, streaked through between 1800E and 2300E. Wind gusts of 40 to 55 mph occurred with the showers associated with the front. A few specific examples included 44 mph at the Parkersburg airport, 48 mph at the Clarksburg airport, 49 mph at the Huntington airport, 52 mph at both Charleston and Elkins. The airport near Buckhannon also measured a 52 mph gust. As much colder air arrived, winds continued overnight, but the gusts were not as strong.||A few trees fell causing power outages and blocking roads. Over 11,000 customers were without electricity from one utility firm, the most affected were in Kanawha and Jackson Counties. A large porch on a building at a golf course in Roane County collapsed.

A major storm spread snow north during Friday morning the 22nd, reaching the Route 50 corridor around noon. The initial warm air advection snow was heavy at times, with snow rates of 2 inches per hour. ||The snow mixed with sleet at times over the southern mountains and southern coal fields during the day on the 22nd. A mid level dry slot also worked into that same area during the late morning and early afternoon, causing lulls or lighter precipitation. ||The snow continued to fall through the night. The snow then diminished and ended from west to east during Saturday the 23rd. The duration was 24 to 30 hours. ||Prior to this storm, 1 to 3 inches of old snow was on the ground in the lowlands, with 2 to 6 inches in the mountain counties. Temperatures were mostly in 20 to 25 degree range in the lowlands during the storm. ||The heaviest snow accumulation was just north and west of the mid level dry intrusion that occurred during the day on Friday. Snow accumulations ranged from 1 to 2 feet from southern Wayne County on northeast, through the central and north central counties. This maximum in snow accumulation followed the Interstate 79 corridor from Charleston to Clarksburg, then eastward into the central mountain counties toward Elkins, Webster Springs, and Snowshoe. In that maximum area, snow accumulations of 18 to 24 inches were more common north of Charleston, including from around Grantsville, Weston, Clarksburg, Grafton, and Philippi. ||The maximum snow accumulations were over 2 feet. Personnel at the Department of Highways measured 25 to 31 inches in various locations around the small community of Harman in northeastern Randolph County. Snowshoe saw a 2 foot accumulation. The snow depth at Snowshoe went from 4 inches prior to the storm, to 28 inches in its wake. The emergency manager in Barbour County reported snow accumulations as high as 30 inches.||Further west, accumulations were less along the Ohio River counties from the Kenova and Huntington vicinity, on through Ravenswood, Parkersburg, St Marys, and Sistersville. Amounts in these western counties were mostly 8 to 12 inches. Another similar minimum, of mostly 8 to 12 inches in snow accumulation, occurred in Mingo, Logan, and McDowell Counties into parts of Wyoming and Raleigh Counties. For example, a spotter reported a 10 inch accumulation at Ghent in southern Raleigh County. Pineville saw their snow depth only go from 2 inches prior to the storm to 8 inches. ||At Charleston the 18.6 inch snowfall for the storm, was the 6th greatest storm total on record. The 16.9 inches of snowfall in 24 hours was their 2nd greatest on record. The snow depth at Charleston went from 2 inches prior to the storm, to 18 inches. The last time the snow depth was deeper was back on the 8th of January in 1996, when the snow depth was 19 inches. The snowfall at Elkins was 17.8 inches for the storm. Their snow depth went from 4 inches prior to the storm to 20 inches. Beckley had a 14.8 inch snowfall. ||Clarksburg saw their snow depth go from 2 inches prior to the storm, to 24 inches. It was the biggest snow storm for Clarksburg since February 2003. Personnel at the 2 television stations in Clarksburg measured less snow. Their snow depths reached 18 to 19 inches at the end of the storm. ||The snow depth at Rock Cave went from 4 inches to 22 inches. Hacker Valley saw their snow depth go from 3 inches prior to the storm to 23 inches in its wake. Bartow and Grantsville both observed their snow cover going from 2 inches prior to the storm to 20 inches. Rosedale went from a 3 inch snow depth to 19 inches. Hawks Nest State Park saw their snow depth increase from 2 inches to 18. ||A few unofficial reports included 18 to 20 inches in Bridgeport, 19 inches in Weston, and around 24 inches in Craigsville. The postmaster at Helvetia also measured 2 feet of snow. Residents in the small community of Harrison in northern Clay County and Looneyville in Roane County both measured around 22 inches. ||The dry snow prevented many power outages. However, most roads in the heaviest snow accumulation corridor became impassible. Since the storm was forecast well in advance, most residents avoided travel. However, tractor trailer accidents closed Interstate 64 in South Charleston for several hours during the night of the storm. On the 23rd, a similar incident closed Interstate 77 for several hours near Edens Fork in Kanawha County. ||There were no direct injuries or fatalities. An indirect death occurred. A Harrison County commissioner suffered a heart attack on the 23rd, while shoveling snow in his neighborhood. He never regained conscientiousness, and died on the 4th of February. He was 67 years old. ||A few building and porch roofs and awnings did sustain damage. This including a metal barn in Alum Creek and a flea market just north of Charleston. A section of a canopy over several boat slips collapsed at a dock on the Kanawha River in Charleston. In Weston, part of a roof collapsed on a dance studio. The building was unoccupied at the time. A large canopy with metal supports collapsed over a log storage yard along Route 33 near Weston. ||The governor had declared a state of preparedness 2 days before the storm, followed by a state of emergency during the storm. National Guard personnel and equipment were used in clearing vehicles from the interstates closures. They also transported critical personnel to work during the storm.||Despite the milder temperatures and melting, many county school districts were closed through Wednesday the 27th.

A narrow line of showers, associated with a secondary front, caused gusty predawn winds on the 29th. Most wind gusts were similar to the low level wind flow, in the 30 to 40 mph range. However, a gust to 50 mph was recorded at Yeager Airport.||A tree fell onto power lines along Autumn Drive in Dunbar.

In a northwest flow aloft, clusters of showers and thunderstorms formed during the evening hours on the 12th. Storms were along a weak front, and ahead of a weak low pressure system in southern Ohio. The clusters of showers and thunderstorms became aligned northwest to southwest along the flow. Two distinct areas of heavy rain occurred. One was over eastern Wood County around Mineralwells during the evening of the 12th. The other area was toward dawn on the 13th over the headwaters of the Elk River from Sutton to Webster Springs and to a lesser extent south into Nicholas County around Richwood. The heaviest measured rain was 3.37 inches from Sutton. Webster Springs observed 3.06 inches, and Criagsville 2.45 inches. Estimates of at least that order of magnitude likely fell around Mineralwells. ||After a lull in the rain during the mid morning into the mid afternoon a mesoscale convective complex dropped southeast, through central and southern West Virginia during the late afternoon and early evening. This caused mostly minor wind damage from fallen trees. ||Another lull followed during the late evening. However, in the humid air, more thunderstorms formed in southeast Ohio and moved into southern West Virginia after midnight, for the early morning hours on the 14th. The axis of heaviest rain went southeast from Mason and Cabell Counties on through Putnam, Lincoln, southwestern Kanawha, and into Boone Counties. The 24 hour rain totals of 2 to 3.5 inches were measured. For example, a spotter in Hurricane had 3.3 inches of rain. The cooperative observer at Madison had 2.65 inches of rain. The automatic gauge at Hager Cemetery in Lincoln County measured 2.36 inches of rain. Flash flooding was common. ||Finally, more thunderstorms formed in northern Ohio ahead of a cold front and mid level disturbance during the midday and early afternoon on the 14th. These storms formed into a squall line and moved southeast, through West Virginia during the late afternoon and early evening. Rain amounts of .5 to 1 in an hour were enough to cause a few minor flooding problems again over the waterlogged counties in the south. Yet, the main effect was strong winds on the leading edge of the squall line. This caused electrical power outages.||In the aftermath, a gubernatorial state of emergency was declared for a few counties. Eventually, a federal disaster was declared by President Obama for the period July 10th through the 14th. It included 8 counties in West Virginia. See FEMA disaster 4236 for more information.

A warm front lifted north through West Virginia on the 3rd with a half inch to an inch of rain over the central mountain counties. Less rain fell elsewhere. Late afternoon and evening temperatures rose into the 50s and lower 60s over the lowlands. Winds and dew points also increased. This combination helped accelerate the melting of the leftover snow pack, especially across the western slopes and southern mountain counties including around Oak Hill and Beckley. About 2 to 3 inches of water resided in the 10 to 20 inches of snow that was melting over the West Virginia mountains.||Rains increased again overnight, with 1 to 1.5 inches of rain falling by dawn on the 4th in 2 separate areas. One heavier rain area was in the mid Ohio Valley, closer to the cold front that was sinking slowly southeast. Streams began to flood. One example, was Middle Island Creek. Eventually, the gauge at Little reached over 3 feet above bank full around 0100E on the 5th. The other rain maximum by early on the 4th was over the southern coal fields including the headwaters of the Guyandotte and Tug Fork Rivers. The Guyandotte River at Man even surged above flood stage early in the morning on the 4th.||Small stream flooding, rock and mud slides were common during the day on the 4th as a steady rain fell. The most common problem was roads closures. Several roads were undermined by runoff channels or adjacent swollen streams. Culverts under roads were damaged. Damage to structures was limited. Rain rates were mostly 1 to 2 tenths of an inch per hour. Total rainfall of 1.5 to 2 inches became common by that evening. Other headwater rivers began to reach their flood stage. The Tygart Valley at Belington went into flood around 1200E, with Philippi around 1600E. Williamson on the Tug Fork, and the Buckhannon River at Buckhannon exceeded their flood stages during the early evening on the 4th.||As the rivers continued to rise, the rain changed to sleet and wet snow from northwest to southeast during the evening hours. Heavy wet snow quickly accumulated along the Ohio River counties during the late evening on the 4th and into the morning hours of Thursday the 5th. The transition to all snow was slower from the Interstate 79 and Route 119 corridor on east into the mountain counties. The snow diminished during the afternoon of the 5th over the Ohio River counties, then by evening further east. A few snow showers lingered in the evening. ||A total snow accumulation of 10 to 13 inches was common from northern Wayne County on up the Ohio Valley Counties to Wood, Pleasants, and Tyler Counties. For example, the snowfall at Huntington was 12.8 inches with a measured accumulation of 1 foot. Spencer had a 11 inch accumulation. Reliable spotters near Fairplain of Jackson County also measured 11 inches. Belleville Lock and Dam measured 10 inches. ||Snow accumulations dropped off into the 6 to 8 inch range from Clarksburg to Charleston into the mountains. The least amount of snow accumulation was on the order of 3 to 6 inches over the southern coal field counties of Wyoming and McDowell and into the southern mountains around Beckley. ||After transitioning from rain to snow, the wet snow accumulated on trees, especially evergreen trees. Prolonged power outages were common in the Ohio Valley Counties. A few areas waited 48 to 60 hours for their electricity to be restored. Counties set up warming shelters for their affected residents. Further east, the counties with less snow had much fewer problems concerning electrical outages. ||Meanwhile, during the snow storm on the 5th, the rivers continued to flood. The Little Kanawha River had minor flooding when Glenville crested around 24.5 feet near dawn on the 5th. Also early on the 5th, while the snow was falling, the Tygart Valley and Buckhannon Rivers were both cresting over flood stage. The crest was 22.65 feet at Philippi and around 17.1 feet at Belington. At Buckhannon in Upshur County the crest was just under 26 feet. This was the highest water level in 15 years there. ||The Tug Fork River crested just under 40 feet at Williamson midday on the 5th. This was the 9th highest crest on record at Williamson. The city water plant was flooded. However, a flood wall protects most of the town. Further down the river, the estimated crest was 45.2 feet at Kermit, more than 6 feet over the 38 foot flood stage. This crest was the highest level at Kermit since the flood back in February of 2003. The Guyandotte crested around 34.6 feet at Branchland during the evening of the 5th. Flood stage is 30 feet. This Lincoln County crest was also the highest since the flood back February of 2003. The crest on the Big Coal River at Ashford was 23.6 feet on the 5th. Bank full is around 17 feet. The Coal River crested at 28.45 feet late in the afternoon on the 5th in the community of Tornado. These water levels were the highest on the lower Coal River in nearly 8 years. The Lincoln County water plant was damaged along the Big Coal River.||Even rivers that did not reach flood stage were high enough to cause minor backwater flooding. One example was the Kanawha River at Charleston. It crested around 27.6 feet during the late afternoon on the 5th. ||Eventually, even the Ohio River had minor flooding from Point Pleasant on down thru Huntington, Ceredo, and Kenova. Point Pleasant crested near 44.5 feet around 1330E on the 6th. The crest at Huntington was about 1.5 feet above flood stage around 0015E on Saturday the 7th.||To dampen the crest further down the Ohio River, the Corps of Engineers held back water at their projects on the Guyandotte River and Twelvepole Creek. As a result, the stored water rose the lake elevation about 102 feet in the vertical at R.D. Bailey Lake on the Guyandotte River. This set a new record pool elevation there.||Mud and rock slides continued during the snow storm. In Mingo County, 1 slide near Gilbert pushed a house off its foundation, and jolted a woman out of her bed. Another slide near Nolan in Splint Hollow damaged at least 3 mobile homes.||One final element was seen in this episode. After the storm, clearing resulted in a cold morning on the 6th for so late in the season. Temperatures on either side of zero were common. Elkins reached 10 below zero. Middlebourne was 6 below zero. West Union was 5 below zero. Parkersburg and Spencer observed 3 below zero. The cooperative observer in downtown Clarksburg was also 3 below zero. Temperatures were not as cold over the extreme southern coal field counties. ||Governor Tomblin declared a state of emergency during this minor flood to heavy snow episode. Initially, 25 counties in this portion of West Virginia were declared a federal disaster for public assistance by President Obama. This was for the combination of winter storms, flooding and landslides. Nearly 90 percent of the preliminary damage assessment was attributed to road and bridge damage. A few more counties were added to the disaster at a later date. See FEMA disaster 4210 for more information.

In less than a week, a second arctic front swept through West Virginia during the early afternoon hours of the 18th. Snow showers formed ahead of the front. Bands of snow showers lingered into the evening over the central mountains and southern lowland counties as temperatures dropped into the single digits before midnight. Snow accumulations of 2 to 3 inches were common around Huntington on through the southern coal field counties and into the central mountains.||Temperatures dropped into the zero to 5 below range just after dawn on the 19th for most areas. Snowshoe reached minus 14. Despite sunshine through icy low clouds, daytime readings only recovered into the 5 to 10 degree range in the lowlands. Temperatures remained below zero during the daylight hours of the 19th across the high mountain terrain. The daytime high temperature on the 19th at Snowshoe was minus 11. ||Wind chill readings of minus 10 to minus 20 were felt in the lowlands during the day on the 19th, while minus 20 to minus 30 was endured across the mountain counties. ||The diminishing winds and a clear sky developed first over southern counties of the state, then moved north during the overnight hours of the 19th into the 20th. With a fresh deep snow pack, temperatures dropped well below zero for dawn on Friday, the 20th. The coldest official temperature was minus 24 at Mt Nebo of Nicholas County. Along Lockhart Fork near Sandyville in Jackson County, 23 below zero was measured. Other official temperatures included minus 21 at Sissonville, minus 19 at East Lynn in Wayne County, minus 18 at Sutton and Snowshoe, minus 17 at the National Weather Service office at Southridge, minus 16 at Grantsville, minus 16 at Huntington, Spencer, Saint Albans, and West Union. The airport near Pineville observed minus 18. Charleston dropped to minus 11. An unofficial temperature of 16 below zero was observed in Hurricane of Putnam County. The southern plateau was not quite as bitter. Beckley had 9 below zero for its minimum temperature. Readings of minus 5 to minus 10 were common across north central counties. For example, downtown Clarksburg had minus 6, while the nearby airport had minus 7. | |In several counties, the morning of Friday the 20th was the coldest since the cold waves of February 1996 and January 1994. For example, the minus 17 at Huntington was the coldest since the minus 21 degrees back in January 1994. The minus 11 at Charleston was the coldest since the minus 12 in February of 1996. ||Two deaths of young adults in the Smokehouse Fork area of Logan County were indirectly related to the cold temperatures. State police listed the cold as a contributing factor. ||At one point near dawn on the 20th, about 10,000 customers were without power in Kanawha County. Emergency warming shelters were set up by churches and towns. Several water lines broke due to the cold and continued for a few days as temperatures moderated. Some of the broken water pipes were underground, while others were inside buildings. One example was under a street in the East End of Charleston. Water lines also broke inside a Marshall dormitory, and in the Boone County Courthouse in Madison. Water collected 1 to 2 feet in a portion of that court house basement, damaging the flooring. Several storage tanks for a water utility company drained due to broken pipes. This cut off water service to thousands in the Charleston vicinity and in Boone County. Some residents were without water for several days.

Another arctic front swept through during the afternoon of the 14th. Temperatures dropped from the upper 20s and 30s into the teens in a few hours. In the wake of the front, wind gusts of 35 to 55 mph were common well into the night. Some power outages occurred. ||A burst of snow occurred along the front. Accumulations were mostly 2 inches or less. However, the snow showers were a bit more persistent across the central mountain counties on south into the Wyoming and McDowell Counties of the southern coal fields. Here accumulations of 3 to 4 inches were common. A few spots in the central mountains, around Richwood and Snowshoe had 6 inches of snow accumulation in 12 to 18 hours.||By dawn on the 15th, temperatures dropped into the single digits in the lowlands with a few readings just below zero in the north central counties. In the mountain counties, the coldest temperature around dawn on the 15th was 15 below zero at Snowshoe. Bartow observed minus 7. ||Early on the 15th, wind chill readings of minus 10 to minus 15 were common, but dropped into the minus 20 to minus 30 range over the mountain counties. Despite sunshine on the 15th, temperatures over the central mountains remained on either side of zero degrees, based on elevation. The clear sky and light winds during the evening of the 15th allowed temperatures to drop below zero in many valley locations over some northern counties. Before clouds started to increase during the predawn of the 16th, Elkins dropped to 12 below zero, Frost was minus 5, Clarksburg airport was minus 4, Rock Cave was minus 3 and West Union was 2 below zero.

A disturbance in the wind flow aloft, along with afternoon heating and instability, helped maintain thunderstorms. They moved through extreme southeast Ohio into West Virginia. The most power outages occurred in Cabell County with over 7,000 customers affected.

Ahead of a slow moving mid level trough in the Missouri, warm and humid air returned to northeast Kentucky on the 10th. Sunshine helped temperatures reach into the mid 80s during the afternoon. An arch of thunderstorms moved northeast out of Tennessee during the late afternoon, through eastern Kentucky and into West Virginia near sunset. A well defined shelf cloud was observed on the leading edge of the squall line. Wind gusts of 45 to 50 mph were widespread. For example, the Tri State Airport near Huntington had a gust to 51 mph at 1909E, a spotter near Leon had a 45 mph gust around 1955E, and Charleston had a 46 mph gust near 2030E. A few spots received slightly stronger wind gusts. Electrical power outages occurred. Cabell County and the Huntington vicinity had about 16,000 customers without electricity. ||After an overnight and morning lull, more rounds of convection developed during midday on the 11th in southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia. Those showers and thunderstorms moved northeast through portions of West Virginia during the afternoon.||Additional clusters of showers and thunderstorms moved northeast through West Virginia during the overnight hours of the 11th into the 12th. Some of these showers were elongated along their movement. Local rains of 1.5 to 2 inches over wet terrain managed to caused minor flash flooding.||The final round of showers and thunderstorms came during the afternoon and early evening of the 13th, as the surface cold front was moving through. Some minor urban and poor drainage flooding occurred.

A strengthening low pressure system crossed through Ohio into southern Pennsylvania during the daylight hours of the 12th. Temperatures were in the 50s and 60s ahead of its associated cold front. The cold front swept through West Virginia during the afternoon hours. In the wake of the front, falling temperatures and strong pressure rises resulted in widespread wind gusts near 45 mph. A few stronger gusts were measured . A gust of 54 mph was measured on top of Bee Mountain in Kanawha County around 1417E. A gust to 53 mph was measured at Yeager Airport near Charleston shortly after 1400E. A gust to 52 mph was measured at the Buckhannon Airport in Upshur County around 1415E. A gust to 51 mph was measured at Raleigh County Airport near Beckley just after 1400E. A 51 mph gust was also measured at Elkins around 1530E. ||Power outages were most numerous in Wayne, Fayette, Wyoming, and Nicholas Counties. Each county had over 2,000 customers without electricity for a short time. In Kanawha County, a few homes were damaged by fallen trees or had siding or gutters pealed away. One evergreen tree crashed through the attic of a house in the hills of Charleston and broke through the ceiling. Strong cross winds tore roofing off a double wide mobile home being pulled along Interstate 77, leaving debris scattered across the roadway. A 2 foot diameter tree fell and damaged fencing in the Teays Valley region of Putnam County.

An arctic cold front sweep through West Virginia between midnight and 0400E on Monday the 6th. Wind gusts of 30 to 50 mph were common with the front. Rain showers and temperatures in the 40s and 50s quickly became snow showers with temperatures falling through the 20s by dawn. Snow accumulations were less than 2 inches. Temperatures continued to fall during the day on the 6th, with blustery winds. Readings reached down into the single digits by sunset. ||Temperatures at dawn on the 7th across the lowlands were mostly 2 below zero to 8 below zero. The coldest temperatures came from the highest elevations. Readings around 10 below were common across the mountains. The coldest readings came from the highest reporting station. Preliminary reports indicated that Snowshoe was 21 degrees below zero for the coldest. For many counties it was the coldest temperature since early February back in 1996. Also, for many southern counties including around Huntington, Charleston, Williamson, Logan, and even Beckley, it was the first sub zero readings since the winter of 2008 to 2009. ||Wind chill readings bottomed out in the minus 20 to minus 30 degree range overnight and into the morning hours for most counties. Of course, wind chill readings were even lower over the exposed highest mountain ridges.||Despite sunshine, temperatures were slow to recover during the day on the 7th. However, the wind did subside during the mid and late afternoon. ||A scattering of frozen pipes, power outages, furnace difficulties, and vehicular engine problems occurred during the cold wave. The frozen pipes occurred in homes, schools, and even public utility supply lines under roads. Marshall University had its share of water leaks, especially in their science building. Repair companies were kept busy. County public school systems were closed. A few county school districts were closed an extra day due to lingering power outages or water damage from the broken pipes. The Wood County school system had trouble keeping their bus engines running. The bio-diesel fuel was turning to gel, causing the engines to stall.

A strong autumn cold front swept across between 0100E and 0400E. Strong winds existed just above the surface. There were fast moving showers near the front, with just a few embedded thunderstorms. The convection was able to mix some of the strong wind gusts down to the surface.||Wind gusts of 35 to 50 mph were common in West Virginia. Stronger wind gusts occurred in a few areas. ||No injuries occurred. Over 10,000 customers in Cabell County and over 8,000 customers in Wayne County were without electricity. A few schools were closed for the day due to the power outages.

A rare consolidation of a strong mid and upper level trough in the polar jet with a tropical hurricane named Sandy resulted in a historical snow storm for the month of October. ||Periods of rain fell for 2 days from the 27th into the 28th, as a cold front moved east. In response to the colder air associated with the polar jet and the strengthening mid level trough, light rain changed to the first snowflakes around 0000E to 0200E on Monday the 29th. This snow was only across the high terrain of southwest Virginia northward into the mountainous counties of central West Virginia. For example, the first flakes around Beckley were around 0100E. However, little accumulation was seen through the morning hours on the 29th. Heading north, the rain took longer to change to wet snow, especially in the river valleys around Elkins and Buckhannon. The first snow flakes in Elkins were observed around 1300E on the 29th. Heading west, the rain continued well through the evening hours. The rain did not change to wet snow until late on the 29th into the early morning hours of the 30th for the western foothills. This included areas around Williamson, Logan, Madison, Charleston, Clay, Sutton, and Philippi. ||The main event for the mountain counties began around midday on Monday. The brunt of the storm occurred overnight Monday night through the day on Tuesday the 30th. Blizzard conditions were observed during this time frame from the Ghent and Beckley vicinity on north toward Elkins. Yet, drifting snow was limited mostly to the highest exposed locations. ||The parent low pressure center moved northwest from southern New Jersey on the evening of the 29th, across northern Delaware, and into south central Pennsylvania by dawn on the 30th. By evening on the 30th, the weakening low pressure was in western Pennsylvania north of Pittsburgh. Wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph were common in the mountainous counties. A gust to 57 mph was measured on the mountaintop at Snowshoe during the morning of the 30th.||The snow decreased in intensity overnight Tuesday night, but some lighter snow mixed with drizzle and freezing drizzle, lingered during the morning hours of Wednesday the 31st. ||Snow accumulations were highly dependent on elevation. One to 3 feet of snow accumulated from Raleigh County on north, through Fayette, Nicholas, Webster, Upshur, Randolph, and western Pocahontas Counties. The maximum snow depth in the city of Elkins reached 15 inches before settling. The snow depth at the Raleigh County 911 Center reached 18 inches. ||The high terrain of Nicholas, Webster, Upshur, Randolph, and western Pocahontas Counties had snow accumulations near 40 inches. For example, the deepest average snow accumulation at the cooperative observer site in Kumbrabow State Forest was 38 inches. On the mountains overlooking Richwood, a 36 inch snow depth was measured. Department of Highway crews estimated at least 3 feet of snow on Point Mountain in Webster County. Snow depths were even greater off the still warm autumn ground. Unofficial measurements of 40 to 50 inches were reported from surfaces such as picnic tables, vehicles, and wooden decks. For example, a 46 inch measurement was taken from a deck in Nettie of Nicholas County.||These snow accumulations surpassed previous known October snow storms. Back on the 20th of October in 1961, snow accumulations were 1 to 2 feet over the central mountains around Summersville and Richwood. In 1979, 2 to 8 inches of snow accumulated on the 9th and 10th. ||Lesser amounts of snow, and still highly elevation dependent, were seen in other counties during this episode. Snow accumulations of 2 to 10 inches were common from Wyoming, McDowell, Mingo, Logan, Boone, Lincoln, Wayne, Putnam, Kanawha, Clay, Braxton, and Barbour Counties. For example, at the National Weather Service office, south of Charleston, the snow depth reached 9 inches. Meanwhile, downtown Charleston had only 1 to 2 inches of slushy snow on the ground. In Barbour County, some measurements of 12 to 14 inches occurred across high ground in the eastern and southern portions of the county. Accumulations were mostly 2 inches or less toward the Harrison County line in Barbour County. ||While snow occurred on Tuesday morning the 30th for counties further west, their snow averages were lower. This included the cities of Huntington, Parkersburg, and Clarksburg.||Beginning early on the 30th, the weight of the wet snow brought down, or bent, trees and large branches onto power lines. One resident in Randolph County said, the snapping and popping sounds we heard so much, it was unreal. Tress continued to fall even after the storm was over. A state forest official said no one species of tree was favored. Trees along sloping right of ways and roads were more susceptible to fall, compared to those located deep within the full forest canopy. In a few areas, citizens reported large oak trees toppled. Many of the oaks had withering brown leaves still clinging to their branches. In the aftermath of the storm, a few selected spots, such as along Routes 82 and 20 near Cowen, were described as looking like a war zone. The woody debris left along the sides of roads, and still hanging in the trees, was viewed by state officials as being a major debris removal issue. ||Widespread and prolonged electric outages were the main public impact from this storm. In this portion of West Virginia over 200,000 customers lost electricity. Many of the hardest hit counties in the central mountains had 80 percent or more of their county population without power. It took a full 2 weeks before the last residents had electricity restored. For example, electricity was restored to the facilities in the Kumbrabow State Forest on Tuesday the 13th of November. Many residents lost frozen food they had stored away for the upcoming winter. The slushy snow did not keep roads impassible very long. However, since power lines frequently run adjacent to the roads, the downed power lines and trees did block many roads and strand several vehicles. State chain saw crews and power companies were used to removed the debris and fallen lines. One crew chief with the state highway department in Randolph County said, as we cut our way through, many residents were out helping clear the roads. Since low clouds lingered after the heavy snow, power companies and relief efforts could not immediately use helicopters or aircraft to survey the damage or to deliver supplies. ||Trees also fell onto homes. In Webster County, a mobile home on Proctor Run Road was destroyed when a tree crushed the middle of its roof and walls.||Snow loading also brought down structures or caused sagging roofs to leak. Larger flat roofs were especially vulnerable. The convenience stores in Craigsville and Summersville, plus a grocery store in Craigsville all had roof collapses. The manager of the grocery store thought the whole building would have to be rebuilt. Minor damage occurred to an apartment complex in Summersville and 72 residents were evacuated in the middle of the night. As the storm was winding down the Summersville mayor said, we'll be making progress, but then more trees will fall and structures will collapse and then more power is lost. Many mobile homes, including double wides, saw their roofs collapsed or damaged from snow loading. A roof to an auto body shop in Hacker Valley collapsed. Canopies over a few gas stations also were damaged or collapsed. Many car ports and porches were also damaged. State preliminary damage assessments counted around 50 homes with either major damage or were destroyed. The majority of those homes were located in Nicholas and Webster Counties. Mobile homes were more susceptible to damage than single family dwellings.||One death was directly attributed to the storm. Near Philippi of Barbour County, a 60 year old male was clearing debris and trees at his deer farm. A tree fell and killed him. A 71 year old woman was found buried in snow over her gravel driveway along Sugar Creek in Webster County. However, the state medical examiner ruled her death was not storm related. ||There were also 3 indirect deaths in the aftermath of the storm. One 62 year old man went into cardiac arrest while shoveling snow in Belington. Emergency medical services were unable to revive him. A 51 year old man from Arlington of Upshur County died from carbon monoxide asphyxiation. He had a generator working inside his garage. He went to refuel the generator and was overcome by the odorless and colorless poisonous gas. Another fatality occurred from carbon monoxide poisoning while operating a gasoline powered generator. The victim was an 86 year old man from Barbour County. ||As the storm began, a state of emergency was declared by Governor Tomblin. A federal emergency declaration was also declared during the onset of the storm. This allowed for direct federal assistance, such as shipments of water, food, and large generators. On the order of 30 to 35 shelters were set up to house residents without power and heat. Yet, the peak occupancy was only around 225 residents. A maximum of around 600 members of the WV National Guard were used to check on the wellness of the citizens, deliver supplies, and assist in the storm clean-up. Eventually, President Obama issued a major disaster declaration for several counties. For more details on this proclamation see FEMA DR 4093. ||With the mountain snow pack containing 2 to 6 inches of water, flooding was a concern during the recovery. However, mild temperatures during the afternoons combined with freezing temperatures at night, to melt the snow gradually at first. Warmer temperatures during the second week of November melted most of the remaining snow pack. Strong rises occurred on the headwater rivers. Fortunately, there was no flooding. Yet, after a hot summer, the ground water was recharged. Heading into the winter months, this episode left the ground and top soil moist.

The 8th of July was the last day of the 11 day heat wave. Temperatures reached on either side of 100 degrees across the southern lowlands. This was the second consecutive day of triple digit maximum temperatures.||An east to west cold front was oriented across northern West Virginia. A hot, moist, and moderately unstable environment existed south of the boundary. Due to the heating, there was a steep low level lapse rate near the ground. Thunderstorms developed along the Route 50 corridor and moved south. Temperatures dropped rapidly at the onset of the storms. For example, at the National Weather Service office in Charleston, the temperature dropped from 95 degrees to 73 degrees in 25 minutes.||Additional power outages occurred in areas still recovering from the late June derecho. For example, outages in Kanawha County increased back to 25,000 customers. Prior to these storms, the number of customers still without electricity had dropped to around 5,000.||This episode marked the end of a major federal disaster in West Virginia that was primarily for the events on the 29th of June and its aftermath. See FEMA disaster 4071 for more details.

On the second day of a developing heat wave, under a sunny sky, afternoon temperatures reached record levels. The lowlands saw thermometers reach into the upper 90s and above 100 degrees. For example, both Huntington and Charleston had 103 degrees. Parkersburg and Clarksburg had 98 degrees. Even the mountainous regions reached into the 90s. Beckley and Elkins reached 96 degrees. ||Meanwhile, an area of multi-cellular convection had moved out of northern Illinois that morning. It continued to organize and strengthen, as it propagated east and southeast across northern Indiana into western Ohio during the afternoon. As it moved toward southeast Ohio, it had already formed into a large arch of storms, or bow, with a developing cool pool in its wake. The temperature contrast between the air ahead of the developing derecho, compared to that in its wake was reaching 30 to 35 degrees. The resultant wind shift in the cool pool resulted in strong moisture convergence on the leading edge of the complex. This in turn, helped drive the storms further southeast, away from the mid and upper level wind support. However, the complex was diving right into that hot air that had obtained large convective available potential energy, or the order of 4000 to 5000 j/kg. ||The complex streaked across southeast Ohio near the hottest time of the day and plowed into western West Virginia near 1730E. The outflow, or gust front, had outraced the rain, as it moved through southeast Ohio. That gust front then moved southeast at 60 to 65 mph across West Virginia. The mature derecho caused the strong gusts to be longer in duration than found in most severe thunderstorms. In some cases the strong wind gusts lasted around 10 minutes. Due to the dry ground, dust and debris accompanied the gust front in some areas. The storms and showers that followed the strong wind gusts only provided about a quarter to a half inch of rain. A few areas even had less rain. ||Widespread wind gusts of 60 to 80 mph were likely with the leading gust front, before weakening in the southern coal fields of West Virginia. A few favored and exposed locations may have seen gusts around 90 mph. Locations sheltered from the northwest had gusts less than 60 mph. The strongest measured gust was 77 mph from the Charleston airport at 1810E. The Huntington airport had a gust to 59 mph at 1758E. The Clarksburg airport had a gust to 66 mph at 1828E. The Elkins airport had a gust to 64 mph at 1857E. The Beckley airport had a gust to 68 mph at 1907E. A spotter in Weston reported a gust to 73 mph on their private equipment. Likewise, a spotter in Mason County reported a gust to 62 mph. ||The wind caused numerous trees and large branches to fall in scattered locations throughout most counties. Luckily, there were no direct deaths. There were 3 indirect deaths that followed from the storms. There was only one direct injury.||There was structural damage. Corrugated metal and siding were ripped off buildings. Trees fell onto houses or vehicles. Overall though, there was not a lot of physical damage to individual property. The fallen trees and power lines also caused roads to be temporarily blocked. However, the largest impact of the high winds was on the electric power grid. Prolong power outages occurred as the heat wave continued during the first week of July. The workers restoring the electricity had to take frequent breaks due to the heat and the safety equipment they had to wear. The electric utility companies had regional transmission lines damaged. These had to be repaired in addition to the usual distribution system. One electric company had to replace over 1000 poles, 575 transformers and 172 miles of wire. That total does include a few counties outside of West Virginia. ||The lack of electricity in the midst of the heat wave, disrupted the daily routines of most citizens for several days. The word, derecho, was introduced into many everyday conversations. Water and ice were in high demand. Family and retail refrigerated food lost was substantial. An emergency declaration by President Obama allowed the federal government to quickly deliver nearly 300 truckloads of water and 750,000 meals. The federal government also shipped over 100 industrial sized generators for critical infrastructure use. Some people slept outside on porches where it was cooler. With limited gas stations available to pump gas, long lines developed for a few days in the wake of the storm. Phone and water service were also affected. Telephone companies had to use emergency generators to power cell towers. Likewise, water companies had to find power for their pumping stations. Citizens that relied on well water had no power to pump the water from their wells. ||Around 600 state natural guard troops performed wellness checks, delivered food and water, and helped in clearing away the fallen trees.||Mainly due to the public damage, a federal major disaster was eventually declared for this episode. A few others episodes in early July were also included. See FEMA disaster number 4071 for more details.

A strong wind flow existed ahead of a cold front. Thunderstorms were racing northeast at speeds over 60 mph.||The strongest storms moved from Wayne and Lincoln Counties on through Kanawha County to Braxton County. Wind damage was most widespread in the urban areas around Charleston. A wind gust to 60 mph was measured at the National Weather Service Office in the Southridge section of Charleston. A gust of around 70 mph was estimated from Flatwoods of Braxton County. Numerous trees or large branches were blown down, some onto power lines and houses. In Kanawha County, 29,000 customers were without power. Yeager Airport generator failed, causing flights to be delayed and diverted.

Out ahead of a strong late winter cold front, dew points rose into the 50s. A marginally unstable air mass allowed a squall line to sweep through during the morning hours. Hail and strong wind gusts were associated with the convection. Electrical power was interrupted in many counties. ||In the wake of the squall line, light to moderate rain lingered into the afternoon. Rain amounts of around 1.5 inches in 24 hours over wet ground, caused a few streams to overflow.

In a hot and humid air, thunderstorms moved through southeast Ohio and into West Virginia during the afternoon. Low level convergence was aided by a leftover boundary from early morning convection. The thunderstorms moved southeast around 25 to 30 mph with wind gusts the main hazard. The tall thunderstorms also produced considerable cloud to ground lightning. Power outages were common. One fatality occurred in Kanawha County.

A continuous rain on Friday the 5th became heavier in the evening over the southwestern counties of West Virginia. Twelve hour rains of over an inch caused minor stream flooding along roads across portions of Lincoln, Putnam, Cabell, Kanawha, Roane, Jackson, Mason, and Calhoun. The rain changed to sleet then wet snow overnight, or late on the 5th into the 6th. ||An exception was Pocahontas County, where the easterly low level flow kept the precipitation as mostly snow. At Snowshoe the snow depth went from 10 inches prior to the storm to 27 inches at the conclusion. At Marlinton the snow depth went from 7 inches to 20 inches. At Bartow the snow depth went from 5 inches to 13 inches. ||The other exception was across Fayette and Raleigh Counties in the southern mountains of West Virginia. Here, pockets of freezing rain fell during the daylight hours on the 5th, before changing to snow that night. The ice from the freezing rain accumulated to around a quarter of an inch. The snow accumulations were mostly |2 to 4 inches.||The heavy wet snow caused power outages across the northern lowland counties of West Virginia. On the 11th, several days after the storm, Harrison County still had hundreds of structures without power. Clarksburg snow depth went from zero prior to the storm to 11 inches. Grafton had a 9 inch accumulation. Harrisville had an 8 inch snow accumulation, while Middlebourne measured 7 inches. Elkins had a 6 inch snow accumulation.||Further south, toward Glenville and Sutton, snow accumulations of 5 to 6 inches were more common.||In the central mountain counties of Nicholas and Webster, not enough freezing rain or snow fell to verify the winter storm warning||Since the storm had been predicted well in advance, Governor Joe Manchin declared a state of emergency at the very onset of the storm, on the 5th.

The mountain and the southern coal field counties were hit hard by heavy wet snow associated with a storm that moved out of the eastern Gulf of Mexico and across southern Georgia late Friday, the 18th. The storm then moved off the North Carolina coast early on the 19th. ||Heavy wet snow began over the southern mountains around Beckley after 1400E on the 18th. Meanwhile, the precipitation started as rain in the southwestern lowlands. The storm even started as rain, as far north as in the Tygart River Valley around Elkins about 1730E. In the Clarksburg vicinity the storm began mainly as snow around 2100E on the 18th. ||In about a 5 hour time span, 9 inches of snow had accumulated in Beckley by 1900E. The rain switched over to snow around 2100E for the lowlands, including Huntington and Charleston. By 2300E on the 18th, 14 inches of snow was reported in Oak Hill. Roads over the higher terrain quickly became hazardous and many were impassible. Tractor trailer trucks jackknifed on the West Virginia Turnpike, resulting in a complete shutdown. Unfortunately, 800 to 900 vehicles became trapped along a 3 mile stretch. This occurred in the narrow mountain valleys between Chelyan and Beckley. The vehicles were unable to turn around. Many of these travelers had to wait 15 to 20 hours before emergency responders and highway crews could reopen the road. ||The snow continued on Saturday with lighter snow rates. The snow diminished during the late afternoon and evening of the 19th. ||The western lowlands saw snow totals of mainly 5 to 10 inches, but the heavy snow failed to reach as far west as Mason or Wood Counties. However, snow accumulations of 10 to 13 inches were common around Clarksburg, Grafton and Philippi. Over Mingo, McDowell, and Wyoming Counties the snow accumulation was highly elevation dependent with totals from 6 inches along some river valleys to near 2 feet across the high terrain of eastern Wyoming and McDowell Counties. Oceana, Mullens, Pineville, and War all reported a 14 inch accumulation. Snow depths increased to around 2 feet in the Beckley and Oak Hill vicinity. These 2 feet snow depths continued northeast, to the mountains around Richwood and into Randolph and Pocahontas Counties. Mount Nebo reported the deepest snow depth with 31 inches. Pickens maximum snow depth was 26 inches. The maximum snow depth at Oak Hill was 23 inches, while Beckley had 22 inches, and Elkins reached 20 inches.| |Tree limbs began to snap Friday evening over the coal fields of southern West Virginia above 1500 feet in elevation. The pop, cracks, crashes, and boom sounds were heard as numerous tree branches and whole trees fell to the ground. The wet snow on the power lines even caused the poles to snap.||The worst impact of the storm, was the fact that electricity was out for thousands of residents for several days, including Christmas. By December 28th, some 3000 customers were still without electricity in Mingo and McDowell Counties. The American Red Cross had 16 shelters open. However, only a few hundred people took advantage of those shelters. ||Governor Manchin declared a state of emergency. The state provided several counties with water, generators, kerosene, oxygen cylinders, cots, and blankets. National Guard troops assisted stranded motorists and helped with debris and snow removal. The state asked the federal government to help pay for the recovery.

A strong low pressure center tracked from Missouri to Michigan. Meanwhile, its associated upper level trough pushed a cold front through West Virginia on either side of sunset. A fast moving band of rain, along and immediately ahead of the front, featured a narrow line of embedded showers. These convective showers helped mix down the winds that were located at 4 to 6 thousand feet above the ground. Surface wind gusts of 55 to 65 mph were common. A gust to 73 mph was recorded at the Parkersburg airport. A gust to 85 mph was recorded on top of the exposed Bee Mountain in eastern Kanawha County. ||Trees and large branches fell onto power lines and blocked roads. The major utility company for north central West Virginia reported around 100,000 customers lost electricity before restoration began. The highest concentration of these outages were in Harrison and Doddridge counties followed closely by Lewis, Upshur, Jackson, and Wood Counties. In the southern counties, the major power company reported over 83,000 customers had lost electricity||Several buildings and homes sustained minor structural damages, while a few other buildings had significant or major damage. At Twin Branch near Davy of McDowell County, winds caused the entire roof of a church gym to separate from the rest of the structure. The roof then fell back down onto the cinderblock walls and nearby automobiles. A 35 year old woman was killed while standing near the building.

Snow moved up the Ohio River Valley and overspread West Virginia during the predawn hours of Tuesday the 27th. The snow quickly accumulated 2 to 6 inches by late morning. The deeper snow accumulation was mainly concentrated across central counties from Mason and Jackson, on east toward Clay, Braxton, Nicholas, and Webster. | |By afternoon, the snow had decreased and transitioned to intermittent light freezing rain across southern counties. Further north, along the Route 50 corridor, the change to light freezing rain was delayed until around 1600E. The intensity of the freezing rain increased for the evening hours, with temperatures still in the upper 20s. Ice accretions of around a quarter inch were widespread, with a half inch accumulation more common along the Ohio River counties. The intensity of the freezing rain decreased after midnight, or early on the 28th, for the Ohio River counties. Meanwhile, further east, temperatures rose above freezing, allowing just rain to fall. The exception was Pocahontas County, where some freezing rain lingered. After the low pressure center lifted northeast through West Virginia during the daylight hours, the storm ended as a quick burst of snow in the afternoon. This added a coating of snow on top of the ice.||Numerous trees fell or sagged onto power lines. So the main problem was the loss of electricity. Evergreen trees were especially vulnerable. The trees were not only coated with ice, but the rain was absorbed by the snow that was already on the trees, adding more weight. A few homes and vehicles sustained damaged from the fallen trees. A home in the Enslow Park section of Huntington was heavily damaged by a fallen tree. ||One power company alone reported over 45,000 customers without electricity. The highest concentration was in the southwestern counties of the state, with Cabell and Wayne Counties being the hardest hit. Some areas in that vicinity were without electricity for 3 to 4 days. Motels that had electricity were quickly filled. Sheltered were open for those residents without auxilary heat. The Salvation Army in Huntington housed about 40 people. One resident that stayed at home said, I am wearing two pairs of long johns and a blanket on may lap. It's 50 degrees inside. We are surviving. ||At a home supply store in Barboursville, people formed a line to wait on a delivery truck with another load of generators. A power company spokesman said folks seemed to wait until after the storm hit and power was already out, before trying to find an alternative way to heat their homes.

Wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph were common the early morning hours through the afternoon across much of West Virginia. Yet, only a few counties actually reported damage associated with these winds. ||The initial strong winds were associated with a cold frontal passage. A second surge of stronger winds occurred during this Sunday afternoon, as strong cold air advection combined with partial sunshine. This allowed for an efficient downward transfer of momentum from the winds aloft. Scattered locations had trees blown down, with evergreen trees being favored. Power outages also occurred.

Individual pulse thunderstorm cells began to merge with an advancing larger line of thunderstorms, coming east, out of Kentucky. As the cells merged, they gained strength and began to produce strong wind gusts. The most damage was from trees falling on power lines. About 4,000 customers were without electricity. Roads were also blocked by fallen trees or large branches. A localized strong wind gust of 76 mph was measured at Yeager Airport near Charleston. That equalled the strongest gust on record there. Yet, no damage was observed at the airport. The adjacent Coonskin Park did have 6 to 12 large trees uprooted or snapped on hilltops. The line of thunderstorms moved east, producing wind damage in Clay and Braxton Counties. On the southern end of the line, the storms did scattered tree damage into Fayette and Raleigh Counties, while large hail fell in Wyoming County.

After a hot and humid afternoon, strong to severe thunderstorms moved southeast, out of Ohio, and through much of West Virginia. Damaging wind gusts were common with the storms and the associated outflow boundary. One power company reported 50,000 customers without electricity at the peak of the outages.

Despite surface dew points in the lower 50s, a fast and thin line of thunderstorms caused brief strong wind gusts. Trees fell across power lines. A few dwellings and vehicle were also damaged by the fallen trees. Over 75,000 customers temporarily lost electricity in southern West Virginia.

Sleet started across Mingo and McDowell Counties by 1000E. The precipitation spread north, reaching the Parkersburg, Clarksburg, and Elkins corridor after 1500E. Further north, the precipitation started as snow, but changed to sleet. Snow and sleet accumulated less than an inch as far north at Huntington and Charleston, and in the 1 to 3 inch range for the southern mountains around Beckley, plus through the Parkersburg to Sutton region. Three inches of snow and sleet accumulated in the Clarksburg to Elkins vicinities. The snow and sleet changed to freezing rain with temperatures still in the low and mid 20s. This transition to freezing rain began around 1500E for Huntington and Charleston, then after dark for Parkersburg, Clarksburg, and Elkins. The precipitation remained mainly in the frozen form across Pocahontas County. New snow accumulations ranged from 4 to 9 inches across Pocahontas County, before being topped off with some freezing drizzle. As the precipitation ended overnight, temperatures climbed to near or above freezing. Treacherous roads were common, but no major power outages occurred.

Snow accumulated 1 to 3 inches, before changing to sleet and freezing rain. The freezing rain deposited a quarter inch of ice on trees and power lines. About 3,000 dwellings lost electricity, mostly in Wayne and Lincoln Counties. A large tree limb snapped off in Charleston, damaging 2 park cars.

A strong cold front rapidly transversed West Virginia during this Saturday evening. Wind gusts of 45 to 70 mph were associated with a narrow band of showers. Wood County Airport measured a gust to 70 mph at 1812E. The Tri State Airport near Huntington measured a 62 mph gust at 1730E. The Charleston National Weather Service office measured a gust to 51 mph at 1833E. In the wake of the front, winds remained gusty, as temperatures fell quickly from the 60s into the 40s. A roof to a small church in Huntington was blown off. A sign was blown through a store window in Ravenswood. Numerous trees and power lines were affected in the western counties. Damage became more isolated from the Charleston vicinity and the Interstate 79 corridor on east, into the mountainous counties.

A quick moving storm moved through the southeastern states on Sunday the 6th, bringing heavy wet snow. A lull occurred by late in the day. Snow and snow showers redeveloped again late Sunday night and continued on Monday, the 7th, especially across the mountainous counties. It was the first significant snow storm of the 2001-02 winter season. In some of the western lowland counties, it was the heaviest snow since 1996. No snow cover existed prior to the storm in the lowlands. The snow accumulated from 3 inches in the valleys to around 8 inches on the hilltops across the western lowlands. Maximum snow depths were 7 inches on the hills at Charleston, also 7 inches at West Union and Oak hill, 5 inches at Glenville and Logan, and 4 inches at Clarksburg. Across the mountainous counties, snow accumulations ranged from 5 to 7 inches in the valleys to around a foot over the mountain ridges. For example, the snow depth at Kumbrabow State Forest went from 4 inches prior to the storm to 16 inches. At Snowshoe the snow depth went from an inch to 14 inches. Mount Nebo saw their snow depth increase from an inch to eleven inches. Elkins had 7 inches, while Beckley had 5 inches of snow accumulation. An indirect death occurred in Charleston. A 55 year old man died, after shoveling snow from his driveway. A few power outages occurred in the western lowlands. Most schools were closed on the 7th.

Brief wind gusts of 40 to 55 mph where associated with rain showers along a cold front. Huntington measured a gust to 52 mph at 1238E, Parkersburg 52 mph at 1537E, Clarksburg 51 mph at 1435E, Beckley 51 mph at 1355E, and Charleston 47 mph at 1351E. A large pine tree slammed into a northern Wayne County house. Around 6,000 customers lost power in the Huntington vicinity. Scattered power occurred elsewhere, as volunteer fire departments were called out in response to fallen power lines. The wind gusts were not any stronger across the mountains, when compared to the western lowlands.

This episode, on the 8th of July, saw fast moving thunderstorms form along a north/south warm frontal boundary. This boundary marked the division between the dry and less humid air to the east, from the incoming steamy moist air, to the west. Low level inflow from the west and northwest was not disturbed, causing new storm formation. The initial training of the thunderstorms occurred across Tyler, Doddridge, and Harrison Counties during the predawn hours, dumping 2 to 3.5 inches of rain. A few hours later, the second and larger area of enhanced rainfall occurred across extreme eastern Kanawha County, western Fayette County, western Raleigh County, eastern Wyoming County, and extreme eastern McDowell County. The average west to east width of this enhanced rain was on the order of 30 miles, with a compass heading from 340 to 160 degrees. In a 3 to 6 hour period, rains of 3 to 5.5 inches were common within that band. Maximum rain rates of 1.5 to 2.5 inches per hour occurred. Upslope, into these higher elevations, likely aided these rain amounts. Despite the initially dry top soil and low stream levels, the steep terrain and narrow valleys were quickly saturated. Between 0715 and 0830E, Hawks Nest State Park measured 2.3 inches of rain. With individual thunderstorm cells racing southeast at 40 to 50 mph, brief lulls occurred before new thunderstorm cells transversed this corridor. Lulls in the rain intensity were on the order of 5 to 15 minutes. The National Weather Service rain gauge in Mullens was washed away by the Slab Fork, but a Corps of Engineers automated gauge recorded a total of 5.37 inches. Other storm totals included 5.2 inches at Oceana and 5.0 inches at Hawks Nest State Park. A volunteer spotter at Page also reported 5.0 inches. Oak Hill and Pineville both measured 4.8 inches, while downtown Beckley had 4.6 inches. Elkhorn measured 4.5 inches of rain. A spotter on Arista Mountain on the Wyoming/Mercer County line had 4.3 inches of rain. London Lock and Dam had 4.0 inches of rain. A Corps of Engineers gauge one mile east of Crab Orchard also measured 4 inches. Dry Creek of Raleigh County saw 3.9 inches of rain. As many as 14,000 homes lost power, with the most in Fayette and Wyoming Counties. Railroad beds were washed-out or undermined. Vulnerable spots were where railroad tracks crossed small streams running down from adjacent slopes. The Amtrak Cardinal train between Chicago and Washington D.C. was stopped in Charleston, as the main line through the New River gorge was damaged in Fayette County. A spokesman for the United States Postal Service said flood damages occurred at the officeslocated at Anawalt, Clear Fork, Dorothy, Glen Jean, Glen Ferris, Itmann, Kimball, Kincaid, Lynco, Maybeury, Minden, Mullens, Switchback, Wyco, and Wyoming. The most extensive damage was done to the offices in Kimball, Mullens, and Minden. The Mullens and Kimball offices were relocated to new quarters. The Minden office was washed off its foundation, but was stopped from floating further away, by its flag pole. Most of these offices were leased by the Postal Service, so the damages were the responsibility of the lessors. However, approximately $200,000 was spent with postal funds in labor and materials for the recovery. The state reported 61 water systems were damaged. The state board of education estimated about 3 million dollars in damage to schools, most in Wyoming County. More than 500 people gathered in 23 emergency shelters. Many flooded residents stayed with relatives. To assist in the clean-up., the air and army national guard personnel peaked at around 2400 members during the 4th week of July. Personnel from South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky, joined the West Virginia troops. The major general of the WV National Guard described the scene in southern West Virginia by saying, "It's just massive destruction". By month's end, 35,000 tons of debris had been hauled away by contractors. Much of the debris had collected on, or against, private and state bridges. The American Red Cross served over 275,000 meals to flood victims and recovery personnel.FEMA added more counties to the original disaster declaration 1378 that was initiated in May. The agency set up a large disaster field office in Charleston. Temporary and large term housing trailers were being established by the month's end, amounting to 29 million dollars in disaster housing. To summarize, for many affected residents, this flood was not a matter of property loss, but of survival. Many along the small streams had to escape "walls of water" within minutes. A father of a family in Dorothy thought, "we'll never get out of this alive". Water roared out of the hollows and onto the wider valleys, carrying trees, rocks, mud, and pieces of homes. As the steep topsoil turned into a liquid, considerable damage was done to dwellings, due to the runoff and debris slides. Accounts from citizens included running up the sides of mountains, driving to higher ground and waiting in vehicles, escaping from roof tops, while others were trapped in their homes. Governor Wise assessed the damage from the air during the afternoon of the 8th. His helicopter was then pressed into the rescue efforts. The main reason there was only 1 fatality, in these counties, was the fact that the flood occurred on a Sunday. Most residents were still at home, rather than at work or school. As a result, the urge to travel was limited. Also, the daylight hours made their escapes safer. Then, almost as quickly as it came, the water was gone. Newspaper headlines favored the words, "destruction" and "devastation" to describe this event.

Just west of a strong frontal boundary, a large thunderstorm complex dropped southeast during the late afternoon and early evening. The strong gusty winds associated with the storms, caused trees to fall on electric lines. One utility company estimated 20,000 customers had their power interrupted.

A cold pocket of air aloft triggered instability showers in the wake of a cold frontal passage. These showers were able to drag down strong winds from a few thousand feet above the surface. Parkersburg had a gust to 46 mph at 1711E, Huntington 45 mph at 1758E, Charleston 43 mph at 1849E, Clarksburg 53 mph at 1905E, Elkins 41 mph at 1927E, and Beckley 49 mph at 1951E.An athletic press box at Liberty High School in Raleigh County was damaged. Electric power was lost to about 6,000 customers between Parkersburg and Clarksburg.

Wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph were common in the wake of a strong cold front. Stronger gusts, on the order of 50 to 70 mph were seen in Wood County and across the central mountainous counties. The Wood County Airport measured a gust to 66 mph at 0101E. Elkins recorded a gust to 59 mph at 0232E. The mountain top at Snowshoe registered a gust to 70 mph around 0100E. Other measured gusts included Huntington with 48 mph at 0018E, Charleston had 39 mph at 0140E, Beckley registered 43 mph at 0319E, and Clarksburg measured 49 mph at 0334E. Scattered minor damage and power outages occurred. Seasonal decorations, tree limbs, and even a large glass window pane were damaged. The state Christmas tree at the capital in Charleston was blown over. Six schools in Kanawha and Upshur Counties were closed due to the power outages.Temperatures fell from the 50s to the 20s in about 6 hours.