Thunderstorm Wind — Summers, West Virginia

2023-08-07 · near Nimitz, Summers, West Virginia

Event narrative

The first sign of wind damage from this storm were multiple trees blown down just east of the Jumping Branch areas along Highway 3. Additionally, along Highway 3 just southwest of Hinton, numerous hardwood trees were snapped or uprooted by the force of the wind, estimated to be up to 100 mph. One home sustained damage to both the roof and the siding in this area. Additional damage was observed along Highway 20 just to the north, where dozens of trees were blown down by estimated 105 mph wind gusts. The storm continued east, snapping or uprooting numerous trees and downing power poles from the community of Bellpoint eastbound along Highway 3 following the Greenbrier River with 100 to 105 mph wind gusts, including multiple trees blown down near the intersection of Highway 3 and Highway 12. Shortly afterward, the storm began to weaken, though still produced significant damage to dozens of trees along Judson Road near the community of Talcott with estimated 70 to 75 mph wind gusts.

Wider weather episode

Thunderstorms developed within a warm, moist, and unstable atmosphere in advance of an approaching cold front. Some of these storms increased to severe levels and produced damaging winds, with one bowing storm near and east of Hinton, WV producing an estimated wind gust of 105 mph.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.6500, -80.9700)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1132508. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.