Damaging Winds in West Virginia, July 9, 2002

Name: Damaging Winds in West Virginia, July 9, 2002
Start: 2002-07-09T16:50
End: 2002-07-09T17:46
Location: West Virginia

July 9, 2002 · NWS LWX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Thunderstorms with damaging winds moved through the Eastern Panhandle between 5 and 7 PM EDT. In Hampshire County, a tree was downed onto a power line in Levels.

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
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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $8,000
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.

Thunderstorms with damaging winds moved through the Eastern Panhandle between 5 and 7 PM EDT. In Hampshire County, a tree was downed onto a power line in Levels. In Morgan County, tree branches were downed along Route 522. In Jefferson County, trees were downed in Shepherdstown and along Route 230.

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 Jul 9, 2:30 PM EST, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 9, 2:30 PM EST, 2 hours 20 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
330 PM EDT TUE JUL 9 2002

...SHORT TERM (TONIGHT-WED NGT)...

12Z MDLS MORE IN LINE THAN PREVIOUS RUNS WITH TIMING OF COLD FRONT
THAT WILL BE MOVING THROUGH THE REGION TONIGHT. BOTH THE 12Z ETA AND
AVN ARE IN LINE WITH THE AVN PICKING UP THE TIMING OF THE FRONT.
E-W-ORIENTED FRONTS TYPICALLY LAG A LITTLE...BUT THE CENTER OF HIGH
PRES OVER THE ERN GRT LAKES...1026 MB...IS PRETTY STRONG FOR THIS
TIME OF YEAR. ANY HIGH CENTER OF 1020 OR GREATER WILL NEARLY ALWAYS
PUSH A FRONT WELL S OF THE REGION...AS WILL BE THE CASE TONIGHT.

UNFORTUNATELY...OUR RAIN CHANCES STILL LOOK PRETTY SLIM...ALTHOUGH
FOR THIS PCKG I UPPPED THE POPS TO LKLY FOR TONIGHT OWING WHAT IS ON
RADAR NOW. THERE WILL BE NARROW LINES OF RW/TRW OVERNIGHT. ONE
INSTABLILITY AREA IS OVER W-CNTRL VA ATTM. THIS AREA WILL MOVE AWAY
FROM THE CWA SHORTLY. THEN A SECOND INSTABILITY LINE AHEAD OF THE
FRONT WAS JUST CROSSING THE OH RIVER INTO WV/PA. IT REMAINS
UNCERTAIN HOW MUCH SUPPORT THIS LINE WILL HAVE BY THE TIME IT MAKES
IT INTO OUR WRN ZNS LATER THIS EVENING. SFC DEW PTS HAVE RECOVERED
INTO THE U60S E OF THE BLUE RIDGE THIS AFTERNOON AND WL REMAIN THERE
OVERNIGHT.

FOR WED...HV DROPPED POPS OVER THE NRN 2/3RDS OF THE REGION BUT KEPT
A 30 CHC ACROSS THE SRN AREA THROUGH THE MORNING. DRIER AIR WL THEN
FILTER INTO THE REGION WED AFTN. TEMPS WL BE COOLER ON WED BY ABOUT
2 CATEGORIES.

WED NIGHT...JUST A FEW HIGH CLDS...AND WITH RELATIVELY DRY AIR IN
PLACE EXPECT TEMPS TO BE ON THE COOL SIDE COMPARED TO CLIMO.

SMZ

THU THRU TUE...

DRY NW FLOW WL BE OVR MID ATLC RGN THU AND THU NGT AS SFC HIGH PRES
BLDS SE INTO THE AREA. INFLUX OF COOL AIR FM THE N WL KEEP TEMPS BLO
NORMAL. GUIDANCE PROGS MAXES ONLY IN U70S ON THU. COOLG WL BE OFFSET
BY M/S SKIES HOWEVER SO WL CONT PREV FCST OF TEMPS IN L80S. LGT WNDS
AND SKC THU NIGHT WL PERMIT DECENT TEMP FALL SO LOWERED MINS INTO
L50S FAR W AND M50S ELSW.

LEFT RMNDR OF EXTENDED FCST UNCHGD. MOISTURE WL BGN INCRG OVR THE
AREA AGN LATE FRI AS UPR FLOW BCMS SW AHD OF S/W OVR MIDWEST. WAA
MOVS OVR RGN FRI NGT AND SAT AHD OF LOW PRES IN TN VLLY. PC FCST FOR
FRI W/L80S STILL LUKS RSNBL...W/NXT CHC FOR PCPN OVR THE WEEKEND.
PCPN MAY MOV OUT OF FA SUN MORN BUT WL WAIT FOR FUTURE MDL RUNS BFR
FINE TUNING THE TIMING.

DRY WX WL RETURN FOR MON AND TUE AS UPR RDG BLDS OVR AREA BHND
DEPARTING S/W.

ARTHUR

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

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 107 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:49 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Hampshire

When: July 9, 4:50 PM EST
Where: Hampshire County, Levels
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.483, -78.550

A tree was downed onto a power line.

Thunderstorm Wind, Morgan

When: July 9, 4:54 PM EST
Where: Morgan County, Central Portion
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.567, -78.250

Tree branches were downed along Route 522.

Thunderstorm Wind, Jefferson

When: July 9, 5:46 PM EST
Where: Jefferson County, Shepherdstown
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.433, -77.800

Trees were downed in town and along Route 230.

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

Every storm in West Virginia in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in West Virginia, July 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: 5308583, 5308584, 5308585.