Thunderstorm Wind — Mercer, West Virginia

2024-05-26 · near Brush Fork, Mercer, West Virginia

Event narrative

Numerous trees and powerlines were downed by thunderstorm winds in the vicinity of Bluefield, West Virginia, including a tree on Union Street, one on Kirk Street, one on Littlesburg Road, and one on Bull Tail Hollow Road. A 52 knot gust was also recorded by the ASOS (Automated Surface Observing System) at the Mercer County Airport. Damage reports were also submitted by members of the public.

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 → (37.2900, -81.2500)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1182452. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.