Cold in West Virginia, April 7, 2002

Name: Cold in West Virginia, April 7, 2002
Start: 2002-04-07T03:00
End: 2002-04-07T08:00
Location: West Virginia

April 7, 2002 · NWS RLX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Dawn temperatures reached 14 degrees at Glady and Marlinton. Frost and Bartow both had 16 degrees.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

Dawn temperatures reached 14 degrees at Glady and Marlinton. Frost and Bartow both had 16 degrees.

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 Charleston, WV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 7, 2:59 AM EST, 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 7, 2:59 AM EST, 1 minute before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
359 AM EDT SUN APR 07 2002

LUKS LIKE NO RCDS SET THIS MRNG UNLSS EKN CAN FALL TO 13F B4
SUNRISE.  MAIN STORY IS CONT WAA THUR TROP FOR SHORT RANGE.  DIFF
AMONGST 00Z NCEP CHAIN IS WRN XTND OF PRECIP MON AFTN THEN SFC
CYCLONE PSTN BYND THAT.  IN THE NEAR TERM...XPCT ABUNDANT SUNSHINE
TDY WITH SCT CI.  DEEPENING SWRLY FLO ALOFT MAKES ITS WAY TO LLVLS
AND IN TURN TEMPS RESPOND WITH VALUES 20 DEGS WRMR THAN SAT.

BENIGN WX TNGT AGAIN SCT-BKN ICE CLDS.  TIGHTENING PRES GRAD WL KEEP
ATMS WELL MIXED.  H8 TEMPS REACH 6C BY 12Z MON WHICH PUTS SNO MRNG
TEMP RGT ARND CRW LWR TO MID 40S.  WITH THE NEW WORKWEEK ACTVY PICKS
UP.  SFC BNDRY XNTDS FM NRN LWR MI SWRD TO GLFCST BY 00Z TUES...GVN
PROXIMITY OF CWA FM FRONTAL BNDRY WNDS RMN S AND POCKET OF HI TEMP
ADV IN H10-H8 LYR STAYS W...THEREFORE WL STAY CLOSE TO CRRNT FCST
FOR AFTN HIGHS AND KEEP DRY FCST GOING.  SFC WV RIDES UP FRNT MON
NGT BULK OF H8-H5 DCVA AND WAA YLDNG Q-VEC CONV STAYS W OF OH RVR.
H8 JET STGNS AS WNDS PROGGED NR 60KTS OVR WRN XCTNS BY F+60.  LI/S
FALL TO 1C AND SBCAPES REACH 0.02 KJ/KG BY DAWN...SO TSTMS PSBL BUT
FOR CONSISTENCY SAKE WL DEFER THEM TIL TUES.

TUES FRNT EASES CLOSER WITH DEEP MSTR FINALLY ARRIVING.  300K ISEN
UPGLIDE/NEG PRES ADV COUPLED WITH BROAD SYNOPTIC SCALE LIFT ALL
POINT TO HI CHC POPS CKB-CRW AND E WITH LKLY WRN AREAS.  CWA STILL
IN WRM SECTOR FEEL LWR 70S ATTAINABLE AGAIN MAINLY E OF OH RVR.

XTNDD...MURKY AT BEST.  LOOKS LIKE SHORT WV GOES THRU WED NT AND THU
IS DRIEST PD IN ITS WAKE...STILL SOMETHING LURKING SOUTH.  MUCH
UNCERTAINTY BEYOND THAT.  HINT OF UPPER RIDGE BUILDING BUT IT STILL
LOOKS RATHER TRANSIENT AND WONT PROTECT US FOR THAT LONG.  SMOOTHED
TEMPERATURES SOME...HARD TO PICK OUT SPECIFIC DIFFERENCES WITH THIS
SO INCREASING FORECAST READABILITY.

.RLX...
WV...NONE.
VA...NONE.
KY...NONE.
OH...NONE.

.END/99/TRM

Event by event

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

Cold/Wind Chill, Randolph

When: April 7, 3:00 AM EST to 8:00 AM EST
Where: Randolph forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Cold/Wind Chill, Pocahontas

When: April 7, 3:00 AM EST to 8:00 AM EST
Where: Pocahontas forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

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

Every storm in West Virginia in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in West Virginia, April 2002

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: 5289550, 5289551.