Several short lines of showers and thunderstorms moved across northern and central portions of West Virginia on the last day of the month. The atmosphere was unstable with a relatively quick wind flow of 40 to 50 knots in the mid levels of the atmosphere.
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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.
Several short lines of showers and thunderstorms moved across northern and central portions of West Virginia on the last day of the month. The atmosphere was unstable with a relatively quick wind flow of 40 to 50 knots in the mid levels of the atmosphere. A few of the stronger cells produced mostly minor wind damage.
Portions of Doddridge, Harrison, Taylor, and Barbour Counties received some training of cells. Rainfall amounts peaked in the 1 to 1.5 inch range during the daylight hours. This water did not cause any major problems. However, these rains, in conjunction with the wet month of May, helped set up the area for serious flooding in early June.
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 31, 5:56 AM EST, 3 hours 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 656 AM EDT SAT MAY 31 2008 .SYNOPSIS... COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS EVENING. DRIER AIR GRADUALLY FILTERS SOUTH ON SUNDAY...TO TAKE CONTROL FOR MONDAY. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... FRONT EDGE OF WEAKENING MCS MOVING ACROSS SOUTHEAST OHIO COUNTIES AT THIS TIME. NO SEVERE REPORTS AT THIS TIME. STRONGEST H850 FLOW ACROSS NORTHERN COUNTIES AT THIS TIME...WITH MCV-TYPE CIRCULATION EVIDENT ON RADAR NEAR CMH. NEW TORNADO WATCH ISSUED IN THIS REGION...SOME CONCERN ABOUT MIDLEVEL CIRCULATIONS MAINTAINING LONG ENOUGH FOR ISOLATED TORNADIC DEVELOPMENT. INITIAL BATCH OF PRECIPITATION MOVES THROUGH THIS MORNING...EXITING THE MOUNTAINS BY MIDDAY. SUSPECT THAT BOUNDARY MAY BE LEFT BEHIND ALONG THE SOUTHERN EDGE OF THE MORNING ACTIVITY...WHICH MAY THEN INTERACT WITH ADVANCING FRONTAL BOUNDARY. HAVE THUS FOCUSED HIGHER POPS AGAIN IN THE NORTHERN COUNTIES LATER TODAY. DEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON WILL BE DEPENDENT ON AMOUNT OF HEATING THAT CAN OCCUR...BUT SEVERE STORMS ARE STILL A POSSIBILITY AS WIND FIELD REMAINS SUFFICIENTLY STRONG. FRONT WILL SAG THROUGH REGION BY THE EVENING...TAKING MOST OF THE SUPPORT FOR PRECIP WITH IT. HAVE POPS EXITING NORTH TO SOUTH...WITH ONLY SLIGHT CHANCE IN THE SOUTH BY 00Z. WENT ON COOL SIDE OF MOS TEMPS TODAY WITH CLOUDS/RAIN...AND TOWARDS THE MAV TONIGHT. && .SHORT TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... TIME SPLIT ON THIS GRAVEYARD SHIFT BETWEEN RADAR AND THESE PERIODS. STILL CONCERNED WITH UPPER AIR DISTURBANCES SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN THE BOARD UPPER TROF WITH LINGERING MOISTURE. PRECIPITABLE WATER NOT LIKE SATURDAY...BUT STILL AROUND AN INCH. THINKING A FEW SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS COULD REFORM BY MIDDAY SUNDAY AND LINGER FOR SOUTHERN COUNTIES INTO SUNDAY EVENING. DRY WEATHER STILL LOOKS TO BE A GOOD FORECAST FOR MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT. TRIED TO INCREASE POPS SOME 10 TO 20 PERCENT FOR WARM FRONTAL ACTION ON TUESDAY INTO TUESDAY EVENING. && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/... 12Z GFS AND 00Z ECMWF DIFFER ON TIMING PAC ENERGY TRAVERSING ACROSS CONUS MIDWEEK. GFS BRINGS LOW PRESSURE ACROSS CWA ABOUT 24HRS QUICKER THAN ECMWF. CONSIDERING GFS HAS BEEN INCONSISTENT HANDLING PAC ENERGY PAST FEW DAYS...WENT WITH ECMWF...WHICH HPC PREFERRED. THIS WOULD BRING A WARM FRONT THROUGH ON TUESDAY. GENERALLY FOLLOWED HPC FOR PLACEMENT OF POPS TUES-THURS...WITH CHC POPS EACH DAY...OWING TO UNCERTAINTY IN TIMING. ECMWF BUILDS IMPRESSIVE H5 RIDGE OVER AREA DAY 6-7...WITH H5 HEIGHTS OF 591DM. HPC TEMPS LOOKED GOOD...EXCEPT BUMPED UP MAXT A FEW DEGREES DAY 6-7 WITH STRONG UPPER RIDGE OVER AREA. && .AVIATION /12Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... 12Z SATURDAY THRU 12Z SUNDAY... SHOWERS AND STORMS A BIT LESS NUMEROUS THAN THOUGHT...AS UPPER AIR SUPPORT STARTS TO PULL OFF TO THE NORTHEAST. VFR CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE DAY TODAY. SPOTTY MVFR CONDITIONS IN NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA THIS MORNING...PKB/CKB...AS SCATTERED SHRA/TSRA MOVE ACROSS. W/SW BREEZES WILL CONTINUE TO GUST TO 25 KNOTS AT TIMES. STILL THINK WE WILL SEE SOME REDEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON AHEAD OF FRONTAL BOUNDARY WITH SOME HEATING DURING THE DAY. DID NOT INCLUDE MUCH RESTRICTION TO CIG/VIS AT THIS POINT DUE TO UNCERTAINTY BUT KEPT CB MENTION IN TO HEIGHTEN AWARENESS. FRONT SINKS THROUGH AREA BY MIDNIGHT...WITH VFR CEILINGS LINGERING BEHIND. AVIATION OUTLOOK /AFTER 12Z SUNDAY/...NO SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EXPECTED.. && .RLX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WV...NONE. OH...NONE. KY...NONE. VA...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...KTB/CL NEAR TERM...CL SHORT TERM...KTB LONG TERM...30 AVIATION...CL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 747 AM EDT SAT MAY 31 2008 OHZ066-067-076-WVZ010-011-011200- PERRY-MORGAN-WASHINGTON-PLEASANTS-TYLER- 747 AM EDT SAT MAY 31 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST OHIO AND WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ALONG A COLD FRONT SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS BEING THE PRIMARY THREATS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED. KYZ101>103-105-OHZ075-083>087-VAZ003-004-WVZ005>009-013>020-024>040- 046-047-011200- GREENUP-CARTER-BOYD-LAWRENCE KY-ATHENS-JACKSON OH-VINTON-MEIGS- GALLIA-LAWRENCE OH-DICKENSON-BUCHANAN-WAYNE-CABELL-MASON-JACKSON WV- WOOD-LINCOLN-PUTNAM-KANAWHA-ROANE-WIRT-CALHOUN-RITCHIE-DODDRIDGE- MINGO-LOGAN-BOONE-CLAY-BRAXTON-GILMER-LEWIS-HARRISON-TAYLOR-MCDOWELL- WYOMING-RALEIGH-FAYETTE-NICHOLAS-WEBSTER-UPSHUR-BARBOUR-POCAHONTAS- RANDOLPH- 747 AM EDT SAT MAY 31 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST KENTUCKY...SOUTHEAST OHIO...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ALONG A COLD FRONT SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS BEING THE PRIMARY THREATS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED.
The Charleston,WV radar (KRLX), 128 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:20 UTC.
5 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Trees were down around the intersection of Route 16 and Broad Run Road.
Trees were blown down.
Power lines were knocked down by fallen trees or large branches.
Several trees fell onto power lines. A tent collapsed near the Washington Dupont Plant.
Several trees were blown down. Some trees fell onto power lines.
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, May 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: 96982, 96983, 96984, 96985, 96986, 96987, 96988.