Heavy Rain, Mercer
- When
- February 3, 11:30 PM EST to February 4, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Mercer County, Countywide
- Deaths
- 2 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $80,000
- Coordinates
- 37.406, -81.111 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain in West Virginia, February 3 to 4, 1998
Heavy rain and some wet snow in combination with the leftover heavy snowfall from the end of January resulted in the roof of a recycling center to collapse near Princeton. Two men were crushed to death when the roof fell on them.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 2
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $80,000
- 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 RNK wrote it up.
Heavy rain and some wet snow in combination with the leftover heavy snowfall from the end of January resulted in the roof of a recycling center to collapse near Princeton. Two men were crushed to death when the roof fell on them.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Rain, Mercer | 1998-02-04 | 58 | Male | Long Span Roof | Direct |
| Heavy Rain, Mercer | 1998-02-04 | 48 | Male | Long Span Roof | Direct |
What these are
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heavy Snow in Kentucky, February 3 to 6, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Kentucky, February 3 to 6, 1998
- Ice Storm in Nebraska, February 3, 1998
- Flood in California, February 3 to 21, 1998
- Winter Storm in West Virginia, February 3 to 6, 1998
- Winter Storm in North Carolina, February 3 to 6, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Tennessee, February 3 to 4, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Kentucky, February 3 to 6, 1998
- Flood in California, February 3, 1998
- High Wind in Nevada, February 3, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Heavy Snow in North Carolina, February 3 to 4, 1998
- Winter Storm in Ohio, February 3 to 6, 1998
More
Every storm in West Virginia in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, February 1998
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: 5635361.