High Wind — Eastern Preston, West Virginia

2023-03-03 to 2023-03-04 · Eastern Preston, West Virginia

Event narrative

Widespread downed trees and power lines were reported. Reported concentrations include along Glade Farm Road and Hazleton Road near Hazleton, and near Aurora, where a large number of pine trees were downed along with power lines. A more isolated incident of a downed tree on West Virginia Route 7 near Caddell was also reported.

Wider weather episode

Low pressure tracked from the Lower Mississippi Valley on the morning of the 3rd towards the northeast U.S. coast on the morning of the 4th. Although the best potential for damaging wind gusts was in southwest Pennsylvania, some strong wind gusts and damage were noted in northern West Virginia, particularly Preston and Tucker Counties, due to a strong pressure gradient. Wind gusts of up to 69 MPH were measured on the peaks of eastern Tucker during the early morning hours of the 4th, and areas of widespread tree and power line damage were received from both counties. More isolated incidents were noted in other West Virginia counties.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1087778. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.