Hail and Damaging Wind in West Virginia, June 20, 2001

Name: Hail and Damaging Wind in West Virginia, June 20, 2001
Start: 2001-06-20T13:35
End: 2001-06-20T15:45
Location: West Virginia

June 20, 2001 · NWS LWX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Scattered thunderstorms that produced damaging winds, hail, and heavy rainfall moved through the area between 2 and 5 PM on the 20th. In Hardy County, pea sized hail was reported.

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: $25,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 LWX wrote it up.

Scattered thunderstorms that produced damaging winds, hail, and heavy rainfall moved through the area between 2 and 5 PM on the 20th. In Hardy County, pea sized hail was reported. A total of 1.9 inches of rain fell in just over an hour in Moorfield. In Hampshire County, nickel sized hail was reported in Romney. In Berkeley County, winds in excess of 60 MPH downed or snapped trees up to 2 feet in diameter and felled power lines in Martinsburg. Twenty trees at War Memorial Park were either snapped at the base or lost several large limbs. Six more trees had to be removed because the storm made them unstable. Other downed trees and power lines were strewn across city driveways, lawns, roads, and a few homes. A partial list of damaged areas included Locust Avenue, Louisiana Avenue, Delaware Street, and Martin Street.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 20, 9:30 AM EST, 4 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 20, 9:30 AM EST, 4 hours 5 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
1030 AM EDT WED JUN 20 2001

AT 14Z...-SHRA THAT DEVELOPED THIS MORN OVER SW PA DISSIPATING
RAPIDLY AS STORMS MOVE E OUT OF THETA E RIDGE. MSAS SFC ANAL SHOWS
RIDGE HAS BEEN SLOWLY BUILDING OVER NW CWA THIS MORN WITH LOCALLY
LOWER AREA OF THETA E OVER NE CWA. SFC PRES ANALYSIS ALSO SHOWS WEAK
LEE TROF ALONG BLUE RIDGE. ENTIRE CWA HAS DEW PTS IN MID 60S TO LOW
70S AND FCST HIGHS 85 TO 90.

ETA 06Z BUFKIT SOUNDINGS SHOW ALL BUT FAR SE CWA HAS POTENTIAL TO
REACH CONVECTIVE TEMP THIS AFT. NEGATIVE TO AFT CONVECTION IS SMALL
CAP ON 12Z IAD SOUNDING NEAR 750MB. HOWEVER...BUFKIT MODEL SOUNDINGS
FCST LAYER TO SLOWLY COOL TODAY SO THIS INHIBITION MAY DISSIPATE...
ESPECIALLY IN NW WHERE MORE ENERGY IS PRESENT.  MODIFIED 12Z IAD
SOUNDING SHOWS POTENTIAL IF CAP IS BROKEN FOR PULSE SEVERE STORMS
WITH LARGE HAIL DUE TO WET BULB ZERO 9220 FT. SPC HAS EXPANDED
SLIGHT RISK TO INCLUDE FAR N AND NE CWA IN ADDITION TO THE NW.

WILL BE ADDING 30 POP IN FAR N AND NE CWA WHERE SLIGHT RISK HAS BEEN
ADDED AND WILL ADD MENTION LARGE HAIL IN ENTIRE OUTLOOK AREA. WILL
INTRODUCE 20 POP ACROSS REST OF CWA /EXCLUDING FAR SE CWA WHERE CAP
IS FCST TO HOLD/ BECAUSE UNABLE TO RULE OUT ISOLATED AFT CONVECTION.

.LWX...
DC...NONE.
MD...NONE.
VA...NONE.
WV...NONE.

MMARGRAF

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 20, 10:00 AM EST, 3 hours 35 minutes before

MDZ002>007-VAZ021-027-028-031-WVZ048>055-202100-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON
1100 AM EDT WED JUN 20 2001

...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE EASTERN
PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA...WESTERN AND FAR NORTHERN MARYLAND AND
EXTREME NORTHWEST VIRGINIA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AS A COLD FRONT
APPROACHES FROM THE NORTHWEST. THIS FRONT IN COMBINATION WITH WARM
TEMPERATURES AND HUMID AIR WILL BRING A THREAT OF ISOLATED SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AREA OUTLINED ABOVE. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE
STORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL.

SKYWARN MAY NEED TO BE ACTIVATED LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR THIS EVENING.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER
DETAILS OR UPDATES.  FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION CHECK OUR
WEB\ SITE AT HTTP://WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/ER/LWX

MMARGRAF

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 118 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:44 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heavy rain, 1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Hardy

When: June 20, 1:35 PM EST to 2:50 PM EST
Where: Hardy County, Moorefield
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.008, -78.858 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Hampshire

When: June 20, 2:45 PM EST
Where: Hampshire County, Romney
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.350, -78.750

Nickel sized hail fell.

Thunderstorm Wind, Berkeley

When: June 20, 3:45 PM EST
Where: Berkeley County, Martinsburg
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.450, -77.967

Trees and power lines were downed onto roads, cars, and a fence.

What these are

Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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

Every storm in West Virginia in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in West Virginia, June 2001

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: 5254593, 5254594, 5254595.