Damaging Winds in West Virginia, May 13, 2002

Name: Damaging Winds in West Virginia, May 13, 2002
Start: 2002-05-13T08:45
End: 2002-05-13T09:28
Location: West Virginia

May 13, 2002 · NWS RLX · 6 events in 5 counties and zones

6 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $6,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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 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 May 13, 2:25 AM EST, 6 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 13, 2:25 AM EST, 6 hours 20 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
325 AM EDT MON MAY 13 2002

TIL TUESDAY NIGHT...

GOOD PHASE-IN CASE...ESPECIALLY FOR MAY.  ERIE WAVE WILL PUSH FRONT
INTO CWA...TO OR JUST WEST OF THE OHIO BY DAWN.  ARK WAVE WILL HOLD
UP FRONT UNTIL IT REACHES PKB-MGW AREA ABOUT 18Z.  FRONT WILL THEN
RACE EAST ACROSS REMAINDER OF CWA THIS AFTERNOON AS WAVE CONTINUES
EAST...INTO MD.

WILL HAVE TO DIVIDE CWA SYNOPTICALLY BASED REGIMES...SHRA/TSRA JUST
GETTING INTO SERN COUNTIES SOMETIME THIS MORNING...WIDESPREAD ACTION
CENTRAL PORTIONS THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON TAPERING OFF AFTER FRONT
(AT LEAST INTENSITY WISE).  COLD RAIN OH ZONES TAPERING OFF THIS
AFTERNOON.  TEMPERATURES TRICKY AND WILL USE ASSORTMENT OF TOOLS/WRK
FIELDS TO GET AND WORK WITH LOW LEVEL D2D TEMP FIELDS.

CONTINUE FFA ALL AREAS AS 3 AND 6-HR FFG VALUES COULD EASILY BE
EXCEEDED GIVEN TRACK/STRENGTH OF SYSTEM AND GENEROUS MOISTURE AVBL
(PWATS 1.75 TO NEARLY 2 INCHES).  WILL ALSO HAVE TO WATCH 1-HR
VALUES ACROSS FAR NORTHERN COUNTIES.  FFA ENDS NOON FAR NW COUNTIES
AND THIS IS OK GIVEN FRONT SHOULD PUSH THROUGH THAT AREA BY ABOUT 12
THIS MORNING WITH RAINFALL DIMINISHING IN INTENSITY THEREAFTER.
BEST RAINFALL LOOKS LIKE MIDDAY MIDDLE PORTIONS OF CWA.

GOOD UPSLOPE SITUATION SETS UP TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY NIGHT WITH SECOND
SHORT ROTATING THROUGH UPPER VORTEX.

NUMBERS:  CLOSE TO TODAYS HIGHS NOW.  BETWEEN OR A LITTLE CLOSER TO
LOWER ON LOWS NEXT TWO NIGHTS (CONTINUITY).  TOOK TUESDAY HIGHS DOWN
TOWARD NUMBERS TAKING DOWN (TO SFC) FROM META 850.

WEDNESDAY ON...INTRODUCED POPS A BIT EARLIER FRIDAY NIGHT (MAY
EVENTUALLY NEED ADDED EVEN EARLIER STILL) OTHERWISE NO MAJOR CHANGES.

WV...WVZ009 FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 16Z TODAY

     WVZ005>008-WVZ010-011-WVZ013>020-WVZ024>040-046-047 FLOOD WATCH
     UNTIL 20Z TODAY.

VA...FLOOD WATCH FOR LATE TONIGHT UNTIL 20Z TODAY VAZ003-004

KY...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 20Z TODAY KYZ101>103...KYZ105.

OH...OHZ066>067...OHZ075>076...OHZ083>085 FLOOD WATCH TIL 16Z TODAY.

     OHZ086-087 FLOOD WATCH TIL 20Z TODAY.

.END / TRM + KS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Logan

When: May 13, 8:45 AM EST
Where: Logan County, Neibert
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.783, -81.950

Large trees were knocked down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Wyoming

When: May 13, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Wyoming County, Cyclone
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.733, -81.683

Trees were blown down along Route 10 and Huff Mountain.

Thunderstorm Wind, McDowell

When: May 13, 9:10 AM EST
Where: McDowell County, Big Sandy
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.467, -81.700

Large tree branches were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Raleigh

When: May 13, 9:16 AM EST
Where: Raleigh County, Glen Daniel
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.767, -81.350

Several trees were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Fayette

When: May 13, 9:25 AM EST
Where: Fayette County, Thurmond
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.950, -81.083

Thunderstorm Wind, Raleigh

When: May 13, 9:25 AM EST to 9:28 AM EST
Where: Raleigh County, Beckley
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.783, -81.183

Scattered locations had large tree branches blown down.

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, May 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: 5291155, 5291156, 5291154, 5291158, 5291157, 5291159.