Ahead of a weak cold front, thunderstorms moved south during the evening hours on the 27th, then slowly weakening in the southern coal field early on the 28th. 5 inches of rain in an hour fell in parts of Jackson, Cabell, Putnam, Lincoln, Kanawha, Boone, Logan, and Mingo Counties.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
Ahead of a weak cold front, thunderstorms moved south during the evening hours on the 27th, then slowly weakening in the southern coal field early on the 28th. Local downpours with 1 to 1.5 inches of rain in an hour fell in parts of Jackson, Cabell, Putnam, Lincoln, Kanawha, Boone, Logan, and Mingo Counties. The usual street and poor drainage flooding occurred.
Lightning strikes from these storms did cause some damage.
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 Aug 27, 9:32 PM EST, 43 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 1032 PM EDT WED AUG 27 2014 .SYNOPSIS... WEAK COLD FRONT CROSSES THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT. WEAK HIGH PRESSURE DOMINATES THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. HOT AND MORE HUMID SATURDAY. DEEPER MOISTURE SUNDAY ASSOCIATED WITH DISTURBANCE ALOFT. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY/... 1030 PM UPDATE... FRONT APPEARS TO BE READY TO CROSS THE OH RIVER AS OF 230Z...WITH SCT SHRA/TSRA JUST AHEAD OF THE BOUNDARY. THESE ARE HOLDING TOGETHER A BIT LONGER THAN ANTICIPATED...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE W LOWLANDS. AS SUCH...THINK THESE WILL PROBABLY MAKE IT INTO HTS-CRW METRO AREAS NEXT FEW HRS. PREVIOUS DISCUSSION BELOW... MUCH OF THE SHRA/TSRA FOCUSED ACROSS THE N LOWLANDS AND EXPECT THIS TO CONTINUE NEXT FEW HRS...SLIDING INTO N MTNS. ELSEWHERE...HAVE JUST ISOLATED SHRA/TSRA THIS EVE. KEEP SCHC POPS IN THRU MORNING WITH THE FRONT AS IT SAGS SE. EXPECT AREAS OF DENSE FOG WHERE IT HAS RAINED. ALSO THINK SOME LOW STRATUS WILL FORM LATE ACROSS C AND S ZONES. THIS WILL SCT OUT BY MID MORNING. KEPT AREA POP FREE TOMORROW PER LATEST HI RES MODELS AS THE FRONT CONTINUES SAGGING S INTO TN VALLEY/NC. PREVIOUS DISCUSSION BELOW... WEAK COLD FRONT AT 16Z ENTERING SOUTHEAST OHIO ZONES...WITH CONVECTION FIRING ALONG THE FRONT IN THE AFTERNOON HEATING. FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL SLOWLY SINK SOUTH ACROSS THE AREA THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT...ENDING UP ACROSS THE SOUTHERN ZONES BY 12Z THURSDAY. STILL EXPECTING BULK OF CONVECTION THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE CWA...WITH A GENERAL WANE IN THE BULK OF ACTIVITY WITH LOSS OF HEATING...ALTHOUGH DID CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN A SLIGHT CHANCE OVERNIGHT AS THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY CONTINUES TO SAG SOUTH. MODELS ARE CONTINUING TO INDICATE AN ENVIRONMENT CONDUCIVE TO FOG DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE NORTH...I.E. SOUTHEAST OHIO AND ADJACENT WV COUNTIES...WITH STRATUS ACROSS MUCH OF WV/SOUTHWEST VA...ZONES. CONTINUED TO MAINTAIN A FORECAST REFLECTIVE OF THIS OVERNIGHT. AREAS THAT GET RAIN TODAY...PARTICULARLY ACROSS THE NORTH...WILL LIKELY BE SOCKED IN IN FOG TONIGHT. MADE LITTLE CHANGES TO TEMPERATURES DURING THE PERIOD. && .SHORT TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY/... ONGOING FORECAST IS PRETTY MUCH ON TRACK WITH ONLY A FEW RELATIVELY MINOR ADJUSTMENTS PER LATEST MODEL RUNS. THURSDAY NIGHT SHOULD REMAIN DRY FOR MOST LOCATIONS...BUT CONTINUED A SLIGHT CHANCE OF PRECIP ACROSS THE VIRGINIA COUNTIES WITH THE STATIONARY DIFFUSE FRONT REMAINS JUST SOUTH. BY FRIDAY...UPPER RIDGING PASSES OVERHEAD WITH AN UPPER TROUGH PUSHING INTO THE CENTRAL/NORTHERN PLAINS. ITS ASSOC SFC LOW WILL BE MOVING NE-WARD INTO THE WESTERN GREAT LAKES WHICH WILL BEGIN TO LIFT THE PREVIOUSLY-STALLED BOUNDARY NORTHWARD AS A WARM FRONT MAINLY TO OUR WEST BY LATE FRIDAY. THIS APPEARS APPRECIABLY LATER VERSUS PREV MODEL RUNS...WITH THE BULK OF THE BETTER LLVL MOISTURE NOW REMAINING SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA FOR MUCH OF THE DAY. WENT AHEAD AND REMOVED SLIGHT CHANCE POPS FOR MOST FOR THE DAY FRIDAY...BUT POOLING LLVL MOISTURE ON SOUTHEAST BOUNDARY LAYER FLOW WARRANTS THE CONTINUATION OF SLIGHT AND LOW CHANCE POPS IN THE EAST/SOUTHEAST MOUNTAIN AREAS. NOT REALLY EXPECTING ANY WIDESPREAD HAZARDS WITH THIS ACTIVITY. HOWEVER WITH PWATS UPWARDS OF 1.60IN AND A WARM CLOUD DEPTH OF NEAR 10KFT...ALONG WITH VERY SLOW CONVECTIVE MOTION UNDERNEATH THE AFOREMENTIONED UPPER RIDGE...A FEW STORMS MIGHT PRODUCE SOME GOOD RAIN AMOUNTS LATE FRI AFTERNOON ESPECIALLY OVER THE SOUTHERN COALFIELDS AREA WHERE THE BETTER INSTABILITY WILL RESIDE. OTHERWISE...A HOT DAY WITH TEMPS IN THE UPPER 80S AND A FEW LOW 90S STILL APPEAR ON TRACK FOR THE LOWLANDS. FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY THE WARM FRONT MAKES ITS MOVE NORTHWARD ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA...WITH WIND SHIFTING FROM E/SE TO S BY 12 SAT...AND TO THE SW BY 18Z SAT. UPPER FLOW WILL ALSO TURN SW AS WELL WITH UPPER RIDGE AXIS OFF TO THE EAST. STILL EXPECT MOST LOCATIONS TO BE DRY OVERNIGHT FRIDAY NIGHT...BUT DECIDED TO INSERT A SLIGHT CHANCE OF PRECIP TRANSLATING SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST PRIMARILY BTWN 06Z-12Z SAT BASED ON CONSENSUS OF MODELS' LLVL MOISTURE FIELDS AND AREA MODEL POINT SOUNDINGS. BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON...PRECIP SHOULD ONCE AGAIN BE MAINLY CONFINED TO THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS WITH A LATE-DAY SHIFT IN BL WINDS BACK TO THE SOUTH AIDING CONVERGENCE...WITH SLIGHT CHANCE POPS ACROSS THE FAR NORTHWEST ZONES. TEMPERATURES WILL BE NEARLY-IDENTICAL TO FRIDAY/S...AND PERHAPS ANOTHER DEGREE OR TWO WARMER...WITH NEAR 90F THE GENERAL RULE FOR SATURDAY IN THE LOWLANDS. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... USED WPC THINKING WITH SOME TWEAKS. WEST TO SOUTHWEST FLOW WITH SEVERAL MID-LEVEL DISTURBANCES WILL RESULT IN ON AND OFF CHANCES OF SHOWERS AND STORMS. A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE NORTHWEST LATE IN THE PERIOD...WITH THIS FEATURE POSSIBLY PUSHING ACROSS THE AREA BY LATE WEDNESDAY. BEST CHANCE OF GETTING WET STILL APPEARS TO BE ON SUNDAY...WHEN A DECENT SHORTWAVE PASSES BY. WPC TEMPS LOOKED GOOD AND WERE GENERALLY USED. && .AVIATION /03Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... MAINLY VFR CONDITIONS THROUGH ABOUT 06Z...EXCEPT CKB/EKN WHERE CONVECTION WILL AFFECT THOSE TERMINALS THRU 1Z. HAVE SOME TEMPO IFR VSBY/MVFR CIGS IN CONVECTION FOR THOSE SITES. ELSEWHERE JUST ISOLATED CHANCE OF A STORM AS THE SURFACE FRONT SAGS SE OVERNIGHT...BUT KEPT MENTION OUT OF OTHER TAF SITES DUE TO LOW CHANCE. EXPECT SOME DENSE FOG ACROSS N TAF SITES WHERE IT HAS RAINED AND WILL CLEAR OUT OVERNIGHT. ELSEWHERE...SOME MVFR LOW STRATUS LOOKS TO FORM ALONG AND JUST BEHIND FRONTAL BOUNDARY TO AFFECT KHTS/KCRW/KBKW OVERNIGHT ALONG WITH SOME PERHAPS SOME MVFR VSBY RESTRICTIONS. ANY LOW STRATUS SCT OUT BY MID MORNING ALONG WITH FOG ACROSS THE N FOR A RETURN TO VFR CONDITIONS AREA WIDE. JUST FEW TO SCT FLAT CU...MOST PREDOMINATE ACROSS S WV/SW VA. WIND SHIFT WITH FRONT BUT ON THE LIGHT SIDE. HAVE N TO NE LIGHT SURFACE FLOW BEHIND FRONT...LASTING THRU TOMORROW. FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND ALTERNATE SCENARIOS THROUGH 00Z FRIDAY... FORECAST CONFIDENCE: MEDIUM. ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: TIMING AND DENSITY OF FOG/LOW STRATUS MAY VARY TONIGHT. EXPERIMENTAL TABLE OF FLIGHT CATEGORY OBJECTIVELY SHOWS CONSISTENCY OF WFO FORECAST TO AVAILABLE MODEL INFORMATION: H = HIGH: TAF CONSISTENT WITH ALL MODELS OR ALL BUT ONE MODEL. M = MEDIUM: TAF HAS VARYING LEVEL OF CONSISTENCY WITH MODELS. L = LOW: TAF INCONSISTENT WITH ALL MODELS OR ALL BUT ONE MODEL. DATE THU 08/28/14 UTC 1HRLY 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 EDT 1HRLY 22 23 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 CRW CONSISTENCY H H H H M H H H H M M H HTS CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H M H H BKW CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H L L L L M EKN CONSISTENCY H H H H L L L L L L L H PKB CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H L L L L H CKB CONSISTENCY H H H H M M H H H H H H AFTER 00Z FRIDAY... LOCAL IFR IN VALLEY FOG EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. IFR POSSIBLE IN SHOWERS/STORMS SUNDAY. && .RLX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WV...NONE. OH...NONE. KY...NONE. VA...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...JSH/50/SL NEAR TERM...SL/30 SHORT TERM...50 LONG TERM...JSH AVIATION...30
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 346 AM EDT WED AUG 27 2014 KYZ101>103-105-OHZ066-067-075-076-083>087-VAZ003-004-WVZ005>011- 013>020-024>040-046-047-280800- GREENUP-CARTER-BOYD-LAWRENCE KY-PERRY-MORGAN-ATHENS-WASHINGTON- JACKSON OH-VINTON-MEIGS-GALLIA-LAWRENCE OH-DICKENSON-BUCHANAN-WAYNE- CABELL-MASON-JACKSON WV-WOOD-PLEASANTS-TYLER-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- 346 AM EDT WED AUG 27 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST KENTUCKY...SOUTHEAST OHIO...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND MUCH OF WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 949 PM EDT WED AUG 27 2014 WVZ008-015-016-280230- JACKSON WV-KANAWHA WV-ROANE WV- 949 PM EDT WED AUG 27 2014 ...SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FOR SOUTHWESTERN ROANE...SOUTHEASTERN JACKSON AND NORTHERN KANAWHA COUNTIES IN WEST VIRGINIA UNTIL 1030 PM EDT... AT 945 PM EDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 12 MILES SOUTHEAST OF RIPLEY...MOVING SOUTH AT 25 MPH. WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. THIS WILL IMPACT THE FOLLOWING INTERSTATES...I-77 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 116 AND 127 IN WEST VIRGINIA...I-79 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 2 AND 17. YOU MAY REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER BY POSTING YOUR REPORT TO THE CHARLESTON WEST VIRGINIA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FACEBOOK PAGE...OR BY USING THE TWITTER HASHTAG...NWSRLX. LAT...LON 3843 8133 3836 8158 3869 8170 3874 8154 25
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
1112 PM EDT WED AUG 27 2014
OHZ086-087-WVZ006>008-013>016-280400-
CABELL WV-GALLIA OH-JACKSON WV-KANAWHA WV-LAWRENCE OH-LINCOLN WV-
MASON WV-PUTNAM WV-ROANE WV-
1112 PM EDT WED AUG 27 2014
...SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FOR LAWRENCE AND SOUTHERN GALLIA
COUNTIES IN SOUTHEAST OHIO...AND SOUTHERN ROANE...CABELL...SOUTHERN
JACKSON...KANAWHA...NORTHERN LINCOLN...SOUTHERN MASON AND PUTNAM
COUNTIES IN WEST VIRGINIA UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT...
AT 1055 PM EDT...THUNDERSTORMS WITH LOCAL DOWNPOURS WERE
LOCATED ALONG A LINE FROM IRONTON TO TEAYS VALLEY TO
ELKVIEW...MOVING SOUTH AT 15 TO 20 MPH. IN THE HEAVIEST RAINS...
AMOUNTS OF A HALF INCH TO THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH HAVE FALLEN
IN 15 TO 30 MINUTES.
THESE DOWNPOURS WILL CAUSE WATER TO POND ON ROADS AND COLLECT IN
POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. ROADSIDE DITCHES WILL QUICKLY FILL AND FLOW
ACROSS ROADS IN SPOTS. SMALL STREAMS WILL RISE QUICKLY.
MOTORISTS WILL ENCOUNTER POOR ROAD VISIBILITY. SLOW DOWN AND ALLOW
MORE SPACING BETWEEN VEHICLES. THIS WILL IMPACT THE FOLLOWING
INTERSTATES...I-64 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 6 AND 57 IN WEST
VIRGINIA...I-77 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 96 AND 127 IN WEST
VIRGINIA...I-79 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 1 AND 25...THE WEST VIRGINIA
TURNPIKE BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 89 AND 95.
AFTER MIDNIGHT...THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY MOVE SOUTH OF THE
INTERSTATE 64 CORRIDOR BETWEEN HUNTINGTON AND CHARLESTON...THUS
INCREASING IN COVERAGE OVER LINCOLN AND SOUTHERN KANAWHA COUNTY.
MEANWHILE...A DECREASING TREND IS EXPECTED AFTER MIDNIGHT
OVER MASON...JACKSON...AND ROANE COUNTIES IN WEST VIRGINIA...PLUS
LAWRENCE AND GALLIA COUNTIES IN OHIO.
YOU MAY REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER BY POSTING YOUR REPORT TO THE
CHARLESTON WEST VIRGINIA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FACEBOOK PAGE...OR
BY USING THE TWITTER HASHTAG...NWSRLX.
LAT...LON 3876 8267 3882 8266 3873 8239 3868 8126
3886 8123 3852 8128 3823 8147 3823 8216
3830 8229 3831 8228 3833 8230 3832 8233
3844 8261 3847 8260 3849 8265 3872 8271
22The Charleston,WV radar (KRLX), 26 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:15 UTC.
2 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck an office building off of Teays Valley Road and ignited a fire. The fire was in the attic. The building sustained smoke and water damaged.
The building housing the Lincoln County 911 Center took a lightning hit. Personnel think the lightning hit their radio tower then ran across the roof of the building. A dispatcher described the sound as marbles being dropped on the metal roof.
The phone system and some radio equipment were damaged. Calls to the center were transferred to Boone County for about 3 hours.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in West Virginia in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, August 2014
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: 530957, 530954.