Winter Storm — Hardy, West Virginia

2003-02-14 to 2003-02-18 · Hardy, West Virginia

Wider weather episode

A complex storm system produced copious amounts of wintery precipitation across the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia between the evening of the 14th and midday on the 18th. The first batch of precipitation fell between the evening of the 14th and the evening of the 15th in the form of light to moderate snow or rain. The second batch of precipitation fell between midnight on the 16th through midday on the 17th in the form of heavy snow or sleet. The third batch of precipitation on the back side of the storm fell between the evening of the 17th and midday on the 18th in the form of scattered snow showers. After the precipitation came to an end, record breaking snow and sleet accumulations of 20 to 37 inches were reported, with the highest amounts falling above 2500 feet. Nicknamed the President's Weekend Snowstorm of 2003, this storm will go down in history as one of the top five regional snowstorms since records began in the late 1800s. This massive storm took a heavy toll on residents, structures, transportation systems, emergency responders, businesses, livestock, and travelers. Officials asked people to stay off the roads during the height of the storm between the morning of the 16th and the morning of the 17th because they were covered by deep snow and sleet and were nearly impassible. Airports in the region was shut down on the 16th, stranding travelers. Emergency personnel and those needing emergency transport had to be taken to their destinations in 4 wheel drives or military vehicles during the storm. Main highways were partially cleared by the 18th but it took up to 5 days to reach some secondary and residential roads. Area schools were closed up to a week after the storm ended. Heavy accumulations weighed down on buildings in the region and several structural collapses occurred. The agricultural community was hardest hit. The following is a list of damage and casualty reports by county that occurred as a result of this winter storm. In Pendleton County, 9 poultry houses collapsed and 175,000 chickens were killed. Five other barns and sheds also caved in. In Grant County, one person was injured when a carport collapsed on them. Several buildings across the county also collapsed including 8 barns, 5 sheds, 2 house roofs, 5 carports, 4 business buildings, 2 porches, 1 trailer roof, and 1 gas canopy. In Hardy County, four poultry houses (2 containing chickens) collapsed. A snow slide at Durgon and near the Petersburg Gap bridge partially blocked roads. In Mineral County, a church and a storage building in Keyser collapsed. A barn built in the 1780s collapsed near Bedington. In Morgan County, a greenhouse in Berkeley Springs suffered structural damage. In Jefferson County, the roofs of 4 trailers and one house collapsed. A barn in Shenandoah Junction also caved in.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5342371. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.