Kanawha storm history

The flood of record occurred on the lower Elk River around Clendenin. Two women died. They were trying to save family heirlooms in the basement of a home in Elkview. In likely their last cell phone contact, 1 of the 2 women described the scene, as like the Titanic. An elderly man…

Severe flash flooding occurred in the northeastern portion of the county. Streams such as Jordan Creek, Doctors Creek, Thorofare Run, Little Sandy Creek, Wills Creek, and the lower reaches of Big Sandy Creek caused much destruction. Little Sandy Creek inundated one large culvert …

Several trees and large branches were blown down from the East End of Charleston on toward Kanawha State Forest. Some branches fell onto vehicles. The dark screen at the baseball field was shredded by the wind. A delayed direct death occurred in a freak accident about 2 hours aft…

A 53 year old male was on top of a car hauler, preparing to unload a vehicle, when he was struck and killed. The storm did not contain a lot of cloud to ground lightning, which may have been deceptive to the worker.

Scattered locations throughout the city reported trees or large branches blown down. Garrison Ave was blocked by fallen trees. A 79 year old man was killed by a falling tree in the 1400 block of Virginia Street. He was trying to get into his car, that was located off an alley beh…

Extensive flooding damage was observed in different neighborhoods within the Chelyan and Cedar Grove townships. On the Cedar Grove side of the Kanawha River, many homes were surrounded by water as Kelleys Creek rose out of its banks. The NWS Storm Survey crew noted a few areas al…

Numerous trees and large branches were blown down in the county. Seven homes were destroyed, 20 had major damage, and another 86 dwellings had minor damage. Nearly 79,000 customers were without electricity. The public infrastructure damage assessment was over 3 million dollars.

This area had received heavy rain 5 days earlier on the 12th. Another round of showers fell on the 14th. The ground was wetter than normal. Rain estimates of 2 to 3 inches fell in an hour. The most impact was along small tributaries to Rocky Fork, including Fishers Branch. An unn…

Hail, the size of golf balls to tennis balls, fell on the West Side hills of Charleston, then across the Knollwood and Mink Shoals vicinity, to Coonskin Park and Capital High School. The swath of hail then reached toward Crede and Big Chimney. This path narrowly missed the more d…

The initial flooding began along Grapevine Creek and Legg Fork in the Sissonville and Pocatalico region, but shifted southeast after dawn. The flooding became more severe after 0730E in the area from Charleston northeast toward Rutledge and Pinch. The axis of the heaviest rain wa…

Thunderstorm cells developed and intensified on the north side of a large complex of showers. Rains of 2.5 to 3.5 inches fell between 1340 and 1500E, in a narrow corridor from the Fort Hill section of Charleston on northeast, toward Big Chimney, Pinch, and Elkview. Charleston's a…

A tree was blown down at the intersection of Spencer Road and Rangeland Road in Clendenin.

A downed tree was observed on Childress Road near the Lincoln County line.

A tree was blown down near the intersection of Porter Road and Bendview Drive in Charleston.

Power outages near Coal Fork were caused by downed trees and power lines near Hunter Road.

Up to three feet of water was observed across New Hope Road near Upper Pinch Road just north of Pinch. Water also entered houses and trailers in that area. The local fire department was dispatched to help move residents to higher ground.

In the Frame township, a tree blew down onto Johns Fork Road.

A tree was blown down near the intersection of Fields Creek Road and Haven Lane outside of Chesapeake.

High water was observed on Rock Lake and Lincoln Drives in South Charleston, Elaine Drive in Rand, Big Coal Fork Drive in Coal Fork, and Smith Creek Road in Tornado.

High water was observed on Washington Street at Rufner Avenue.

Over 300 homes in the St Albans area were without power due to nearby tree and power line damage.

In Clendenin, one tree was knocked down along Highland Drive and another along Elk River Road.

About 18 inches of water covered Alum Creek Road between Route 119 and Childress Road. High water was observed between Rock Lake Drive and Kanawha Turnpike near Dunbar, near the southern end of South Side Bridge in Charleston, and between Ferry and Dickenson Streets near Chesapea…

High water was observed in the 2000 block of Roxalana Road in Dunbar.