Power Outage in Keyser, WV

There were multiple reports of trees and wires blown down in Keyser, including a tree down in the 300 block of WV-46 West Piedmont Street, a large tree and power lines down on a house in the 100 block of Front Street, and a tree down near the intersection of WV-46 Carroll Avenue and Vernon Street.

A tree blew down bringing down power lines and a pole in the 7000 block of Sonnybrook Lane.

A tree was reported down on powerlines on Limestone Rd near Hollywood Rd.

There were trees and power lines down near Route 28 and The Woodland Inn.

There were trees and power lines down on Route 46 across from Frankfort Drive.

Mineral County Law Enforcement reported trees into power lines on East Fairview Road.

Law Enforcement reported several downed trees and power lines near Keyser, WV.

Numerous reports of downed trees and powerlines occurred across portions of the county, especially in the higher ridges.

Trees and power lines down. Shingles blown off buildings.

Trees and power lines down.

Trees were downed onto roads and power lines.

High winds caused numerous power outages.

Trees and power lines downed.

A weak surface trough developed over the Mid Atlantic on July 20th. This trough combined with heat and humidity allowed isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms to form across the eastern pan handle of West Virginia. Some storms became severe, downing trees and power lines in Hardy, Hampshire and Mineral counties.

A cold front approached the Mid Atlantic during the afternoon of June 22. Afternoon heating contributed to strong instability that helped to focus scattered strong to severe thunderstorms ahead of a cold front. Damaging winds brought some trees and power lines down in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. Large hail was also reported. Hail to the size of half dollars fell in 5 miles southwest of Fort Ashby in Mineral County.

An area of low pressure moving over West Virginia pushed a strong cold front through the region during the early morning hours of March 5th. This front triggered several strong to severe thunderstorms with gusty winds as well as heavy rain. Several lines of thunderstorms crossed the region from the evening of March 4th through the early morning of March 5th. Heavy rain lead to several road closures due to flooding. There were numerous reports of trees and power lines down across the eastern pan handle of West Virginia.

A strong cold front crossed the region and caused strong winds to occur. There were reports of a few trees downed and minor property damage due to the strong winds. Trees and powerlines were downed along route 956 in Mineral County, and also at a campground on Patterson Creek Road.

The first snowfall of the season in the higher elevations was a significant one. A swath of heavy snow fell across portions of West Virginia, western Maryland, and western Virginia. Some snow amounts topped one foot. The Allegheny Power Company, which covers much of the area hit by the storm, reported the largest-ever service restoration effort in the history of the company. More than 310,000 power outages occurred due to this storm. Numerous tree branches were toppled and widespread power outages occurred across the area.

After the passage of a cold front, strong winds downed many trees and power lines and caused damage to homes and vehicles in the eastern West Virginia panhandle. Some of the downed power lines caused fires. Several thousand people were left without power. A wind gust to 52 mph was reported in Capon Bridge, and a wind gust to 47 mph was reported near rooftop level in Keyser. A tree fell on a car in Maysville, killing the occupant. Additionally, six trailers were destroyed due to the high winds, injuring two occupants.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms ahead of a strong cold front downed trees and power lines across the Panhandle of West Virginia on May 7th.

A thunderstorm with high winds moved through Mineral County during the afternoon of the 3rd. Trees and power lines were downed in Wiley Ford.

A thunderstorm with high winds moved east through Mineral and Hampshire counties during the evening of the 12th. In Mineral County, trees were downed in Keyser. In Hampshire County, several trees and power lines were downed in the northern and eastern portion of the county.

Low pressure pushed northeast through the Mid Atlantic region on the 9th and brought a mixed bag of precipitation to the eastern foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Rain, sleet, and snow fell below 2500 feet. Up to ½ inch of snow and sleet accumulated. Above 2500 feet, freezing rain, sleet, and snow was reported. The ice accumulated up to 3/4 of an inch on trees and power lines. Some trees were downed by the weight. Other areas reported up to 1 ½ inches of snow and sleet accumulation. Slick roads led to a handful of accidents, especially at higher elevations.

Up to 2 inches of rain fell across the area on the 29th and 30th. At elevations above 2500 feet, temperatures were below 32 degrees during this period of time. This caused the rain to freeze on impact on trees, power lines, roads, and bridges. Numerous trees were downed onto roads and power lines after being weighted down by ice up to 2 inches thick. The early season storm hit when the leaves were still on the trees so the ice accumulation was especially heavy on the boughs. In Mineral County, the hardest hit areas were in and around Elk Garden and Hartmanville. A communications tower on Pinnacle Mountain (elevation 3000 feet) which included transmitters for radio, TV, and emergency communications was damaged by thick ice. Repair crews had to cut their way up to the transmitter with chainsaws after the access road was blocked by numerous downed trees (see picture). In addition, four school buses dropping off students in the Pinnacle area were stranded for several hours on the afternoon of the 19th until road crews and local citizens with chain saws were able to clear fallen trees from the roadway. In Hardy County, the NOAA Weather Radio transmitter on a mountain near Moorefield was knocked off the air after power lines were downed by the ice.

Thunderstorms with high winds, heavy rain, and large hail moved through the Eastern Panhandle between 2:30 and 5:30 PM EDT. In Pendleton County, a tree was blown down in Sugar Grove. In Hardy County, trees were downed onto electrical wires in the eastern half of the county. In Mineral County, several trees and power lines were downed in the Short Gap, Fort Ashby, and Patterson Creek areas. Also in Fort Ashby, golfball sized hail and more than 2 inches of rain fell in 30 minutes. Nickel to quarter sized hail was reported in Short Gap.

A thunderstorm with high winds crossed the northern portion of Mineral and Hampshire Counties between 5 and 6 PM EDT on the 10th. In Mineral County, a few trees were downed in the Patterson Creek area. In Hampshire County, trees and power lines were downed. A large tree blocked Route 29 near Slanesville. Hail of unknown size fell near Springfield.

A strong cold front moved across the Eastern Panhandle during the early afternoon of the 16th, producing wind gusts in excess of 55 MPH. Several trees were downed in Morgan County, and one home reported significant roof and shingle damage. Officials in Mineral County reported downed trees in Fort Ashby, Wiley Ford, and the Cross area near Elk Garden. Fire officials had to respond to several brush fires sparked by downed power lines throughout the afternoon.