Thunderstorm Wind — Mercer, West Virginia

2024-05-26 · near Giatto, Mercer, West Virginia

Event narrative

Sparks from live power lines blown down by thunderstorm winds caused a structural fire, and one injury was reported.

Wider weather episode

A line of thunderstorms quickly progressed across southeast West Virginia through the afternoon as an MCS (Mesoscale Convective System) tracked from the Ohio Valley into the Mid Atlantic and Central Appalachians. Strong daytime heating ahead of the line and high dewpoints lead to high surface based CAPE (Convective Available Potential Energy), and DCAPE (Downdraft Convective Available Potential Energy) values exceeded 1000 J/kg. This environment led to widespread damaging winds, which resulted in numerous power outages from downed trees and power lines.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.4100, -81.2300)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1182443. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.