A strong pressure gradient between low pressure over the Great Lakes and high pressure to the south resulted in gusty winds across eastern West Virginia.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 LWX wrote it up.
A strong pressure gradient between low pressure over the Great Lakes and high pressure to the south resulted in gusty winds across eastern West Virginia.
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 Dec 29, 9:37 PM EST, 8 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 937 PM EST MON DEC 29 2008 .SYNOPSIS... A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE AREA OVERNIGHT AND REACH THE CHESAPEAKE BAY TUESDAY MORNING. ANOTHER COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THORUGH THE REGION WEDNESDAY. HIGH PRESSURE IS THEN EXPECTED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK. THE NEXT FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH ON FRIDAY BRINGING CHANCES OF RAIN AND SNOW. HIGH PRESSURE WILL SETTLE ACROSS THE AREA FOR THE WEEKEND. && .NEAR TERM /OVERNIGHT/... WE ARE SEEING WIND GUSTS NEAR 50 MPH AT PETERSBURG, WV. MDLS IMPLY STRONG WINDS AT HIGHER ELEVS OVRNGT W/ THE FRONT MOVG INTO THE RGN..SO A WIND ADVSRY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE HIGHLANDS. THE GRADIENT WILL BEGIN TO TIGHTEN LATE TONIGHT. WESTERLY LLJ WILL BEGIN TO IMPACT THE HIGHER TERRAIN TOWARDS DAWN. MODELS ARE PROGGING A 50 TO 55 KT JET STREAK TO MOVE ACROSS THE CWFA LATE TONIGHT/EARLY TOMORROW. ANY HIGHER WINDS WOULD MAINLY IMPACT THE HIGHEST ELEVATIONS IN THE POTOMAC HIGHLANDS. SKIES SHOULD REMAIN MOSTLY CLEAR OVRNGT. TOOK A BLEND FOR MIN TEMPS OVERNIGHT BETWEEN THE MET/MAV/MOSGUIDE. && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/... A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS PROGGED TO MOVE ALONG THE MASON-DIXON LINE TUESDAY NIGHT AND EARLY WEDNESDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING A ROUND OF PRECIP MAINLY TO THE HIGHLANDS. UPSLOPE SNOW SHOWERS COULD BRING A GOOD 1 TO 3 INCHES FROM LATE TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY. ELSEWHERE...PRECIP CHANCES REMAIN QUITE MEAGER. THIS LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL ALSO BRING ANOTHER INCREASE IN WINDS TO THE REGION ON WEDNESDAY. AM BEING CONSERVATIVE AT THIS TIME...BUT WIND GUSTS AOA 35-40KT IS POSSIBLE IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN. WIND GUSTS AROUND 30 KT AREA POSSIBLE ELSEWHERE. JUST TOOK A BLEND OF TEMPS FOR THE SHORT TERM...GUIDANCE WAS FAIRLY CLUSTERED. HIGH PRESSURE WILL SHIFT EAST ACROSS THE FA ON THURSDAY...WITH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES EXPECTED (HIGHS MID/UPPER 30S). HIGH SHIFTS EAST ON THU OUT AHEAD OF THE NEXT FRONTAL SYSTEM WHICH WILL APPROACH FROM THE WEST. MODELS HAVE BEEN FAIRLY CONSISTENT WITH EACH RUN ON THE TIMING OF THE FRONTAL PASSAGE...HOWEVER 12Z GFS DOES ADVERTISE SFC LOW DEVELOPMENT LATE FRIDAY ACROSS THE EASTERN CAROLINAS AND MOVING UP THE COAST. UKMET AND ECMWF ALSO DEVELOP A SFC LOW...BUT BOTH DEVELOP THE ONE MOVING ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES. STILL...ALL MODELS INDICATED 50H TROF GOING NEGATIVE-TILT...EHANCING THE SFC LOW. PRECIP WILL START OUT AS SNOW EARLY FRI...BEFORE TEMPS WARM ABOVE FREEZING EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE DURING THE DAY BEFORE CHANGE BACK OVER TO SNOW FRI NIGHT. WITH THE DEEPING LOW...WINDS WILL BE INCREASING DURING THE DAY AND INTO SAT MORNING. COULD SEE SOME UPSLOPE SNOW SHOWERS BEHIND THE SFC LOW...AND THIS IS REFLECTED INT HE GRIDS THROUGH SUN NIGHT. HIGH PRESSURE EXPECTED FOR THE FIRST PART OF NEXT WEEK. && .AVIATION /03Z TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE SHORT TERM PERIOD. WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN STORY...INCREASING OVERNIGHT W/ THE COLD FRONT. WIND GUSTS TO 20-25 KT WILL BE POSSIBLE TUESDAY...OUT OF THE NW. WINDS WILL BRIEFLY DIE DOWN TUESDAY EVENING...BEFORE PICKING UP AGAIN LATE. WINDS WILL SHIFT TO THE SW LATE TUESDAY/EARLY WEDNESDAY AND INCREASE AS LOW PRESSURE MOVES ACROSS THE MASON- DIXON LINE. WINDS WILL SHIFT TO THE NW/N LATER ON WEDNESDAY...AND GUSTS TO 25-30 KT WILL BE POSSIBLE. NO RESTRICTIONS EXPECTED ON THU AS HIGH PRESSURE SETTLES IN ACROSS THE FA. NEXT SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH ON FRI...WITH SUB VFR CONDS EXPECTED AND INCREASING WINDS. HIGH PRESSURE ON TAP FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD. && .MARINE... HAVE DONE SOME TWEAKING TO THE SCA HEADLINE. WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE OVERNIGHT AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING FRONT. SMALL CRAFT CONDITIONS XPCTD OVERNIGHT INTO TUESDAY. A WIND SHIFT TO THE NW IS EXPECTED BY EARLY TUESDAY. AS LOW PRESSURE MOVES ACROSS THE MASON- DIXON LINE ON WEDNESDAY...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES OR GALE WARNINGS WILL BE NECESSARY. SCA CONDS POSSIBLE ON FRI THROUGH SUN AS SFC FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA AND SFC LOW DEVELOPS ACROSS THE NORTHEAST...WITH RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS ON FRI. OTHERWISE...NO FLAGS EXPECTED. && .LWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... DC...NONE. MD...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 8 AM EST TUESDAY FOR MDZ501. VA...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 8 AM EST TUESDAY FOR VAZ021. WV...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 8 AM EST TUESDAY FOR WVZ054-501-503. MARINE...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 3 AM TO 4 PM EST TUESDAY FOR ANZ530>537. && UPDATE...WOODY PRVS...NWL/SAL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 916 PM EST MON DEC 29 2008 ANZ530>537-DCZ001-MDZ006-007-011-013-014-016>018-VAZ052>057- 301300- CHESAPEAKE BAY NORTH OF POOLES ISLAND MD- CHESAPEAKE BAY FROM POOLES ISLAND TO SANDY POINT MD- CHESAPEAKE BAY FROM SANDY POINT TO NORTH BEACH MD- CHESAPEAKE BAY FROM NORTH BEACH TO DRUM POINT MD- CHESAPEAKE BAY FROM DRUM POINT MD TO SMITH POINT VA- TIDAL POTOMAC FROM KEY BRIDGE TO INDIAN HEAD MD- TIDAL POTOMAC FROM INDIAN HEAD TO COBB ISLAND MD- TIDAL POTOMAC FROM COBB ISLAND MD TO SMITH POINT VA- DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA-NORTHERN BALTIMORE-HARFORD- SOUTHERN BALTIMORE-PRINCE GEORGES-ANNE ARUNDEL-CHARLES-ST. MARYS- CALVERT-PRINCE WILLIAM/MANASSAS/MANASSAS PARK-FAIRFAX- ARLINGTON/FALLS CHURCH/ALEXANDRIA-STAFFORD-SPOTSYLVANIA- KING GEORGE- 916 PM EST MON DEC 29 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE MARYLAND PORTION OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY...TIDAL POTOMAC RIVER...AND ADJACENT COUNTIES IN CENTRAL MARYLAND AND NORTHERN VIRGINIA AS WELL AS THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY WILL GO INTO EFFECT ON THE MARYLAND CHESAPEAKE BAY AND TIDAL POTOMAC RIVER AFTER MIDNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CONDITIONS WILL LIKELY RETURN WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. GALE WARNINGS WILL BE POSSIBLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT. MDZ003>005-009-010-501-502-VAZ021-025>031-036>042-050-051- WVZ050>055-501>504-301300- WASHINGTON-FREDERICK MD-CARROLL-MONTGOMERY-HOWARD- EXTREME WESTERN ALLEGANY-CENTRAL AND EASTERN ALLEGANY-HIGHLAND- AUGUSTA-ROCKINGHAM-SHENANDOAH-FREDERICK VA-PAGE-WARREN-CLARKE- NELSON-ALBEMARLE-GREENE-MADISON-RAPPAHANNOCK-FAUQUIER-LOUDOUN- ORANGE-CULPEPER-HAMPSHIRE-MORGAN-BERKELEY-JEFFERSON-PENDLETON- HARDY-WESTERN GRANT-EASTERN GRANT-WESTERN MINERAL-EASTERN MINERAL- 916 PM EST MON DEC 29 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA... NORTHERN AND CENTRAL VIRGINIA...AND CENTRAL AND WESTERN MARYLAND WITH THE EXCEPTION OF GARRETT COUNTY. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE ALLEGANY HIGHLANDS THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING FOR WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE MID ATLANTIC ON WEDNESDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW ACROSS THE WESTERN SLOPES OF THE ALLEGHENIES. ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE THOUGH THE MID ATLANTIC FRIDAY...PROVIDING THE RISK OF WINTRY MIX OF PRECIPITATION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A wind gust of 51 knots was reported in Petersburg. Tree limbs were down and there were also reports of debris flying around.
A wind gust of 53 knots was reported in Petersburg. Tree limbs were down and there were also reports of debris flying around.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in West Virginia in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, December 2008
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: 144633, 144632.