Cold/Wind Chill — Mcdowell, West Virginia

2005-01-23 to 2005-01-25 · Mcdowell, West Virginia

Wider weather episode

An 84 year old woman, living alone in a house in Capels, died from exposure to the cold. A local minister had checked on her during Sunday afternoon the 23rd. Her house was warm at that time. Sometime afterwards, late on Sunday or during Monday, her furnace stopped working. She died sometime Monday afternoon or night, on the 24th. Temperatures were on either side of zero at dawn on the 24th. High temperatures on the 24th were in the 25 to 30 degree range, dropping into the teens that night. The temperature in her house was reportedly in the teens, when her body was discovered early on the 25th.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5432757. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.