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F1 tornado in Putnam County, West Virginia
Tornado June 2, 1998 · Putnam County, West Virginia
NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Mason County → Putnam County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.
The path drawn at its surveyed width of 40 yards (0.02 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.
What the National Weather Service wrote
The tornado crossed the Mason/Putnam County line about 2 miles west of Pliny and uprooted large trees mainly south of County Route 9.
The wider storm
The rotating supercell that formed in southeast Ohio cut a path southeast, up the Kanawha River Valley. The most damage was from large hail hitting the urban areas, especially the Kanawha City section of Charleston. Hundreds of vehicles were dented, including new cars at dealerships. Roofs, plus west facing siding and windows were also damaged. Large trees were also uprooted or snapped. The largest concentration of tree damage was from the South Hills and Kanawha City sections of Charleston on east, to Malden. So the wind damage was still substantial. One large tree damaged a church, another tree heavily damaged a home along Lower Donnally Road. The largest insurance company reported a total of about 10,000 claims for homes and vehicles combined.One Kanawha City business owner said, "I never saw anything like this before. I never thought I'd go through this in West Virginia." The junior high school in Kanawha City was to be letting students go home just before the storm hit. Instead, the staff and students took shelter in the interior hallways of the school. The warnings and the smart action by citizens of the Kanawha Valley prevented any injuries from this powerful thunderstorm.
Began near Pliny (38.6200, -82.0200).
Other tornadoes from the same storm system
2 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5659177. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.
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