West Virginia, 1997

Cold in West Virginia, November 18, 1997

November 18, 1997 · NWS RLX · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

A fresh snow cover sent dawn temperatures into the single digits for the sheltered mountain valleys. The coldest was 1 below zero from Glady.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
7

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 fresh snow cover sent dawn temperatures into the single digits for the sheltered mountain valleys. The coldest was 1 below zero from Glady. The higher terrain had 10 to 15 degrees. Some representative readings included 4 degrees at Greenbank, 5 from Bartow, 7 at Elkins, 8 at Valley Head, 10 for Webster Springs, and 13 from the Raleigh County Airport near Beckley.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Randolph

When
November 18, 7:00 AM EST
Where
Randolph forecast zone

Cold/Wind Chill, Fayette

When
November 18, 7:00 AM EST
Where
Fayette forecast zone

Cold/Wind Chill, Nicholas

When
November 18, 7:00 AM EST
Where
Nicholas forecast zone

Cold/Wind Chill, Pocahontas

When
November 18, 7:00 AM EST
Where
Pocahontas forecast zone

Cold/Wind Chill, Raleigh

When
November 18, 7:00 AM EST
Where
Raleigh forecast zone

Cold/Wind Chill, Upshur

When
November 18, 7:00 AM EST
Where
Upshur forecast zone
Coordinates
38.898, -80.233 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Webster

When
November 18, 7:00 AM EST
Where
Webster forecast zone

What these are

Cold/Wind Chill
Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in West Virginia in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, November 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5623033, 5623034, 5623035, 5623036, 5623037, 5623038, 5623039.