Strong Wind — Monongalia, West Virginia

2018-09-10 · Monongalia, West Virginia

Event narrative

A wind gust of 30-35 mph caused a tree to fall on a house. The ground was heavily saturated due to Remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon. A woman died while sleeping in her bed when the tree fell on her home around 4:30am (Monday, Sept 10th).

Article: http://wvmetronews.com/2018/09/10/woman-killed-by-falling-tree-in-monongalia-county/.

Wider weather episode

Tropical Storm Gordon came ashore along the central Gulf Coast on the night of September 4th. The tropical cyclone dissipated over Missouri by the night of September 7th. Moisture from the decaying tropical system interacted with a surface low and frontal boundary, spreading widespread heavy rainfall across the region over a 3 day period. 72 hour totals across northern West Virginia ranged from 2 inches to about 5.5 inches.Small-stream flooding was not as widespread as in areas to the north and east in Pennsylvania, with only a few issues reported in Marshall County. However, winds of 30-35 MPH combined with the saturated ground to cause a tree to fall on a house in Cheat Lake, killing a woman who was sleeping in an upstairs bedroom.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 785483. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.