Thunderstorm Wind — Doddridge, West Virginia

2023-08-25 · near Duckworth, Doddridge, West Virginia

Event narrative

One tree was blown down across Duckworth Road.

Wider weather episode

A sagging cold front sluggishly pressed through West Virginia beginning on August 25th, continuing to shift eastward on the 26th. The slow nature of this boundary promoted an extended period of showers and thunderstorms spanning both days.

Starting on the 25th, a few thunderstorms sprouted during the predawn hours through parts of north central West Virginia, with individual tree damage noted in each county. A few storms reached severe levels during the morning rush hour, with strong winds causing additional tree damage in Clay and Kanawha Counties. Within the storms passing over Kanawha County, bursts of heavier rainfall took place, and caused minor high water issues in known trouble areas in and around downtown Charleston. While the bulk of storms diminished shortly after sunrise, another round of flash flooding occurred in parts of Teays Valley in Putnam County and eastward near the Putnam/Kanawha County lines early that morning.

On the next day on August 26th, more rain fell across parts of eastern Kanawha County. The disturbance imposing the slow moving cold front finally set sail to the east on the 26th so convection chances quickly diminished. However, the ground conditions left behind by these two days of precipitation would set the stage for major flash flooding to take shape on August 28th.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.2900, -80.8600)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1127617. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.