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F1 tornado in Kanawha County, West Virginia

Tornado June 2, 1998 · Kanawha County, West Virginia

F1
Rating
1.5 mi
Path length
80 yd
Path width
$100K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 80 yards (0.05 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F1 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F1 meant moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken; the scale paired it with winds of 73–112 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

The tornado moved up Chappell Hollow, in the Kanawha City section of Charleston. The path was along the east facing slope of the hollow, and narrowly missed several homes. A few homes were still damaged by fallen trees. The estimated winds were between 90 and 100 mph.

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 Charleston (38.3300, -81.6000).

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 5659184. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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