5 inches fell in 12 to 18 hours from the 5th into the 6th. Water from small streams flooded roads.
Every event with a place to put it; 10 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS RLX wrote it up.
Rains of 1.5 to 2.5 inches fell in 12 to 18 hours from the 5th into the 6th. Water from small streams flooded roads. Mudslides also occurred. Later, minor river flooding occurred along the Tygart Valley River basin, including the Buckhannon River. The river crested at 16.9 feet at Belington. Flood stage at Belington is 14 feet. The river crested around 21.4 feet at Philippi. Flood stage at Philippi is 19 feet. Minor river flooding was also seen along the Little Kanawha River. The river crested around 24 feet in Glenville, just a foot above flood stage.
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 Feb 5, 10:45 AM EST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.
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</html>HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 504 AM EST THU FEB 5 2004 KYZ101>103-105-OHZ066-067-075-076-083>087-VAZ003-004-WVZ005>011- 013>020-024>040-046-047-051500- ATHENS OH-BARBOUR WV-BOONE WV-BOYD KY-BRAXTON WV-BUCHANAN VA- CABELL WV-CALHOUN WV-CARTER KY-CLAY WV-DICKENSON VA-DODDRIDGE WV- FAYETTE WV-GALLIA OH-GILMER WV-GREENUP KY-HARRISON WV-JACKSON WV- JACKSON OH-KANAWHA WV-LAWRENCE OH-LAWRENCE KY-LEWIS WV-LINCOLN WV- LOGAN WV-MASON WV-MCDOWELL WV-MEIGS OH-MINGO WV-MORGAN OH- NICHOLAS WV-PERRY OH-PLEASANTS WV-POCAHONTAS WV-PUTNAM WV-RALEIGH WV- RANDOLPH WV-RITCHIE WV-ROANE WV-TAYLOR WV-TYLER WV-UPSHUR WV-VINTON OH-WASHINGTON OH-WAYNE WV-WEBSTER WV-WIRT WV-WOOD WV-WYOMING WV 504 PM EST WED FEB 4 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEASTERN OHIO...NORTHEASTERN KENTUCKY...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA...AND MOST OF WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE... A MOISTURE LADEN LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM APPROACHING FROM THE SOUTHWEST...WILL BRING SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL TO THE AREA LATE TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY. UNLIKE ITS PREDECESSORS...THIS STORM WILL BRING MUCH MILDER AIR WITH IT...NOT TO MENTION THE ANTECEDENT COLD AIR AS NOT AS COLD AS HAS BEEN THE CASE DURING RECENT EVENTS. A WINTER STORM WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR FREEZING RAIN FORECAST FOR THE DEEPER NORTHERN MOUNTAIN VALLEYS WELL INTO TONIGHT...AND A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR SOME FREEZING RAIN ACROSS FAR NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA...AND ON DOWN THROUGH THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS...THROUGH THIS EVENING. THE BIGGER STORY WITH THIS SYSTEM...THOUGH...IS THE RAINFALL. A FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE ENTIRE AREA FOR THE POTENTIAL FOR ENOUGH RAINFALL TO BRING SOME STREAMS AND RIVERS OUT OF THEIR BANKS. IN ADDITION TO THE ONE TO PERHAPS NEARLY TWO INCHES OF RAINFALL FORECAST FROM THIS SYSTEM...FROM LATER TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY...THERE ARE THREE ANTECEDENT CONDITIONS WHICH MAKE OUR AREA PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TO FLOODING RIGHT NOW. SNOW PACK IN THE MOUNTAINS CONTAINS 2 TO AS MUCH AS 4 INCHES LIQUID EQUIVALENT. THIS WILL HAVE A MAJOR HYDROLOGICAL IMPACT AS IT MELTS. THE SECOND IS OUR SATURATED GROUND AND ALREADY HIGH RUNNING RIVERS FROM RECENT SYSTEMS. THE THIRD IS THE TIME OF YEAR. VEGETATION IS NO WHERE NEAR AS EFFECTIVE IN WINTER AS IT IS IN SUMMER...IN ABSORBING SOME OF THE RAINFALL...AND DELAYING AND MITIGATING ITS IMPACTS. * WINTER STORM WARNING.......SEE WWUS41 KRLX - WSWRLX FOR DETAILS * * FLOOD WATCH................SEE WGUS61 KRLX - FFARLX FOR DETAILS * * WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY....SEE WWUS41 KRLX - WSWRLX FOR DETAILS * .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THE RAINFALL...AS DESCRIBED ABOVE...WILL CONTINUE FRIDAY...BEFORE THE STORM SYSTEM PULLS AWAY FROM THE AREA FRIDAY EVENING. ANY RIVERS THAT COME OUT OF THEIR BANKS MAY CONTINUE TO PRESENT PROBLEMS INTO THE WEEKEND...BEFORE RECEDING BACK INTO THEIR BANKS. * FLOOD WATCH................SEE WGUS61 KRLX - FFARLX FOR DETAILS * .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. TRM
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
12 flood, 2 ice storm, 1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Freezing rain fell with surface temperatures in the upper 20s. Liquid amounts were in the .3 to .6 inch range. Ice accretion was from a quarter inch to over a half inch. Large branches fell across power lines, causing power outages. Approximately 18,000 customers were without electricity.
Snow and sleet accumulated a few inches before changing to freezing rain. The ice accretion was from a half inch to an inch. Fallen trees and branches blocked roads. The debris from the fallen trees, plus the ice accumulation, forced the ski resort at Snowshoe to temporarily close.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in West Virginia in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, February 2004
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5382091, 5382092, 5382090, 5382094, 5382095, 5382096, 5382097, 5382098, 5382099, 5382100, 5382101, 5382102, 5382103, 5382104, 5382093.