Ice Storm — Roane, West Virginia

2003-02-16 to 2003-02-17 · Roane, West Virginia

Wider weather episode

A severe ice storm occurred across a narrow east to west band of counties. The severe ice continued west, into southeast Ohio and northeast Kentucky. Ice from freezing rain accumulated 1 to 3 inches on power lines and trees. The precipitation then ended as snow on the 17th. The added weight from the ice, broke limbs and snapped the tops off thousands of trees. Other trees were uprooted or left leaning at precarious angles. The fallen trees blocked many roads. Power outages were widespread, and lasted for more than 3 days. Refrigerated frozen foods thawed and spoiled. Phone and water services were also interrupted. The Red Cross opened shelters. One gas station in Ravenswood wired up a borrowed generator and pumped over 600 gallons of kerosene in less than 24 hours. Nearly 25,000 gallons of bottled water were distributed. A state forester said, "the severity of damage varied a lot, with some hillsides escaping major damage, while neighboring slopes had nearly all the tree tops snapped off by the ice". A Jackson County commissioner said, " This is really the worst I've ever seen here". The diverse and complex storm, that brought this severe ice, also caused the flooding rains in the southwestern part of the state, the heavy snow in the north, and even a prolong period of sleet to some counties. A state of emergency was declared by Governor Wise on the 16th. Wise requested federal monetary assistance due to the flooding, severe ice, and snow removal. A major disaster declaration was granted by President Bush. See FEMA disaster number 1455 for details on county assistance.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5341577. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.