West Virginia, 2012

High Wind in West Virginia, October 29 to 30, 2012

October 29 to 30, 2012 · NWS LWX · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

Hurricane Sandy moved up the Atlantic coast and then turned Northwest and made landfall northeast of MD. Heavy rain and high winds over spread coastal regions and most of Maryland, eastern panhandle of West Virginia and Northern Virginia.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
$12,000
Crop damage
$30,000
Events
11

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 LWX wrote it up.

Hurricane Sandy moved up the Atlantic coast and then turned Northwest and made landfall northeast of MD. Heavy rain and high winds over spread coastal regions and most of Maryland, eastern panhandle of West Virginia and Northern Virginia. Heavy rain caused flooding and river flooding.

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 Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 29, 2:11 AM EST, 49 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 29, 2:11 AM EST, 49 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 29, 2:24 AM EST, 36 minutes before
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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Oct 28, 10:06 PM EST, 4 hours 54 minutes before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Western Pendleton

When
October 29, 3:00 AM EST
Where
Western Pendleton forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
38.681, -79.351 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind gusts of 58 mph were measured by a mesonet.

High Wind, Eastern Grant

When
October 29, 4:00 PM EST to 4:15 PM EST
Where
Eastern Grant forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$10,000
Crop damage
$10,000
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
39.105, -79.196 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Estimated wind gusts of 58 mph were reported by spotters. There were some trees down including one on a car and one that damaged a house.

High Wind, Western Grant

When
October 29, 4:00 PM EST to 4:15 PM EST
Where
Western Grant forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Crop damage
$10,000
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
39.105, -79.196 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Estimated wind gusts of 58 mph were reported by spotters. There were some trees down including one on a car and one that damaged a house.

High Wind, Hampshire

When
October 29, 5:00 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where
Hampshire forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$2,000
Reported by
Unknown
Coordinates
39.317, -78.614 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind gusts of 58 mph were estimated by nearby observations. There were a few reports of lost shingles on homes but wind damage was very sporadic.

High Wind, Hardy

When
October 29, 5:00 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where
Hardy forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
Unknown
Coordinates
39.008, -78.858 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind gusts of 58 mph were estimated by nearby observations.

High Wind, Morgan

When
October 29, 7:13 PM EST to 8:04 PM EST
Where
Morgan forecast zone
Measured
60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
39.560, -78.258 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind gusts ranged from 58-60 mph at Martinsburg Airport.

High Wind, Berkeley

When
October 29, 7:33 PM EST to 8:14 PM EST
Where
Berkeley forecast zone
Measured
52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
39.464, -78.027 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind gusts ranged from 58-60 mph at Martinsburg Airport.

High Wind, Jefferson

When
October 29, 7:53 PM EST to 8:34 PM EST
Where
Jefferson forecast zone
Measured
52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Crop damage
$10,000
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
39.308, -77.863 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind gusts ranged from 58-60 mph at Martinsburg Airport. There were some trees knocked down.

High Wind, Western Mineral

When
October 29, 8:00 PM EST
Where
Western Mineral forecast zone
Measured
56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
39.415, -78.944 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind gusts of 64 mph were measured by a Coop observer.

High Wind, Eastern Mineral

When
October 29, 8:00 PM EST
Where
Eastern Mineral forecast zone
Measured
56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
39.415, -78.944 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind gusts of 64 mph were measured by a Coop observer.

High Wind, Eastern Pendleton

When
October 30, 3:00 AM EST
Where
Eastern Pendleton forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
38.681, -79.351 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind gusts of 58 mph were measured by a mesonet.

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in West Virginia in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, October 2012

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: 417824, 417819, 417820, 417825, 417826, 417816, 417815, 417817, 417821, 417822, 417823.