Strong Wind — Southeast Raleigh, West Virginia

2023-03-03 to 2023-03-04 · Southeast Raleigh, West Virginia

Event narrative

Downed trees and power lines in the county resulted in widespread power outages. Near the town of Bradley, a power line was blown down onto trees and caused a fire in the woods near Beechview Road. The Beckley airport measured a 49 mph wind gust that afternoon.

Wider weather episode

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.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1082337. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.