Thunderstorm Wind, Wood
- When
- May 18, 3:04 PM EST
- Where
- Wood County, Parkersburg Arpt
- Measured
- 70 kt (81 mph)
- Property damage
- $8,000
- Coordinates
- 39.350, -81.430
Damaging Wind in West Virginia, May 18, 1997
A localized downburst hit the airport. The tower was briefly evacuated as the personnel thought the windows were going to be blown in.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $8,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS RLX wrote it up.
A localized downburst hit the airport. The tower was briefly evacuated as the personnel thought the windows were going to be blown in. The anemometer indicated an 81 mph gust. Fourteen vehicles parked at the airport had windows broken. The weather observer said, "we thought we were having hail, but it wasn't hail. It was busted glass flying around." Large sliding hangar doors were bowed or taken off their tracks. No damage occurred to aircraft.
The radar
The Charleston,WV radar (KRLX), 118 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:04 UTC.
Event by event
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flood and Hail in Arizona, May 18 to 20, 1997
- Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, May 18, 1997
- Tornado in Indiana, May 18, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Indiana, May 18, 1997
- Tornado in Indiana, May 18, 1997
- Tornado in Indiana, May 18, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Michigan, May 18, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Indiana, May 18, 1997
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in Illinois, May 18, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 18, 1997
- Hail in Kansas, May 18, 1997
- Damaging Wind in West Virginia, May 18, 1997
More
Every storm in West Virginia in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, May 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5598297.