Thunderstorm Wind — Preston, West Virginia

2019-05-19 · near Redhill, Preston, West Virginia

Event narrative

One man was killed and two were injured when a tree fell on them while on a kayaking trip near Seven Islands on the Cheat River. Story reported here: https://www.wvnews.com/prestoncountynews/news/kayaker-who-died-on-cheat-river-identified/article_23cdb16e-5aeb-5a46-90b5-6eedca78115c.html.

Wider weather episode

A combination of increased orographic lift and weak perturbations within the southwest flow aloft, from an exiting upper-level ridge, helped break warm-air capping during the late morning on May 19th. Isolated and scattered storms developed along the Eastern Ridges.

A passing storm resulted in one man being killed and two others injured. They were stricken by a falling tree while seeking shelter from the storm.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.2800, -79.6900)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 821773. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.