Damaging Winds in West Virginia, July 9, 2003

Name: Damaging Winds in West Virginia, July 9, 2003
Start: 2003-07-09T12:15
End: 2003-07-09T13:00
Location: West Virginia

July 9, 2003 · NWS RNK · 5 events in 4 counties and zones

Thunderstorms during the afternoon of the 9th produced damaging winds.Thunderstorm winds downed trees 4 miles north of Princeton, across Summers County, in Renick, Athens and Sinks Grove,

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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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.

Thunderstorms during the afternoon of the 9th produced damaging winds.Thunderstorm winds downed trees 4 miles north of Princeton, across Summers County, in Renick, Athens and Sinks Grove,

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 Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 9, 8:50 AM EST, 3 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 9, 8:50 AM EST, 3 hours 25 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG, VA
950 AM EDT WED JUL 9 2003

SCATTERED SHRA/TS DVLPG OVER WRN FA IN RESPONSE TO APPROACH OF WEAK
H5 S/W.  THESE WILL PROVIDE SOME LEFT OVER BOUNDARIES FOR INITIATION
OF PM CONVECTION.  IN LIGHT OF THIS WILL BE UPDATING FOR INCREASED
POPS THIS AFTN GENERALLY W OF BLUE RIDGE. HIGH DEWPTS IN EAST AND
GOOD HEATING MAY PRODUCE WIDELY SCTD PM CONVECTION...AS PER CURRENT
ZONES.

.RNK...
NC...NONE.
VA...NONE.
WV...NONE.

SPN/MG

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 9, 4:25 AM EST, 7 hours 50 minutes before

NCZ001>006-018>020-VAZ007-009>020-022>024-032>035-043>047-058-059-
WVZ042>045-101100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
525 AM EDT WED JUL 9 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA...
WESTERN AND CENTRAL VIRGINIA...AS WELL AS NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

HOT AND HUMID WEATHER WILL DOMINATE AGAIN ACROSS THE REGION...
ESPECIALLY EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS WHERE TEMPERATURES WILL BE IN THE
90S...AND HEAT INDICES AROUND 100.

WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON...AND AN
ISOLATED STORM COULD CONTAIN DAMAGING WINDS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY MAY PRODUCE ISOLATED BURSTS OF
STRONG WIND AND RAIN...RESULTING IN WIND DAMAGE OR SMALL STREAM
FLOODING.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

UNLESS THUNDERSTORMS BECOME WIDESPREAD...SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT
ANTICIPATED.

08

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 79 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:15 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Mercer

When: July 9, 12:15 PM EST
Where: Mercer County, 4 mi N of Princeton
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 37.417, -81.017

Thunderstorm Wind, Summers

When: July 9, 12:20 PM EST to 12:45 PM EST
Where: Summers County, Countywide
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 37.417, -81.100

Thunderstorm Wind, Monroe

When: July 9, 12:35 PM EST
Where: Monroe County, Sinks Grove
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.983, -80.367

Thunderstorm Wind, Greenbrier

When: July 9, 12:40 PM EST
Where: Greenbrier County, Renick
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 37.667, -80.833

Thunderstorm Wind, Mercer

When: July 9, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Mercer County, Athens
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.667, -80.550

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 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in West Virginia, July 2003

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: 5379655, 5378143, 5378145, 5378144, 5378146.