A strong cold front pushed into a moist and unstable air mass across the middle Ohio River Valley on the 22nd. Ahead of the cold front, a line of strong to severe thunderstorms formed during the afternoon.
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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.
A strong cold front pushed into a moist and unstable air mass across the middle Ohio River Valley on the 22nd. Ahead of the cold front, a line of strong to severe thunderstorms formed during the afternoon. This line peaked in strength as it crossed the Ohio River, and then weakened rapidly as it continued eastward.
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 22, 2:03 PM EST, 13 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Charleston WV 303 PM EDT Tue Aug 22 2017 .SYNOPSIS... Strong cold front with strong to possibly severe storms into tonight. Cooler and drier high pressure into the weekend. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 3 PM Tuesday... A rather classic set up for severe weather presents itself this afternoon and evening. A strong cold front extended from southeast MI to southern IL early this afternoon. In an axis ahead of it, surface dew points into the lower 70s, CAPE of 1500 to 2000 J/kg and 45 to 50 kts of deep layer bulk shear provide ample potential for severe weather for late August, especially given prime heating time. Already approaching the Ohio River as of early afternoon, the severe threat continues through the evening hours, well out ahead of the advancing cold front. The severe threat will end prior to the frontal passage on loss of heating and of some dynamics. The front itself reaches the Ohio River around midnight, and then crosses the remainder of the forecast area by dawn Wednesday. After low clouds and some fog to start, drier northwest flow will bring cooler and less humid weather Wednesday. Temperatures looked to be on track given the latest guidance and weather pattern, notwithstanding wet bulb cooling, which led to a somewhat lower than guidance forecast for early tonight. && .SHORT TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/... As of 230 PM Tuesday... High pressure builds into the region Wednesday night for drier weather. Looking to overall be a dry period, with warm sunny days, and foggy mornings under high pressure. A shortwave trough will affect the area on Thursday, which could create a few light showers or sprinkles, but overall, main threat for this appears to be low, and to our north. It will however, bring in an additional shot of cooler air. Overall, will be nice weather, with the much cooler and less humid conditions, and sunny weather. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... As of 230 PM Tuesday... Most of the extended period will remain dry, although there will be a slight chance to chance for showers and thunderstorms, mainly across the higher terrain, possibly drifting westward into the lowlands. Expecting a slight increase in temperatures from the short term. && .AVIATION /19Z TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... As of 3 PM Tuesday... A strong cold front moves across the area late this afternoon and tonight, well preceded by a line of strong to severe thunderstorms. After the VFR warm sector start, timing on line of TSTMS has not changed much. After reaching the Ohio River near 19Z, it is expected to arrive at CKB-CRW line around 23Z and into the mountains 01Z-02Z. Conditions can lower to IFR at times in heavy rain, with very strong gusty west winds possible. Low level moisture will follow the front overnight, mainly on IFR stratus, but some fog is also possible. Dry low level northwest flow will allow this moisture to mix out quickly Wednesday morning. FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND ALTERNATE SCENARIOS THROUGH 18Z WEDNESDAY... FORECAST CONFIDENCE: Medium. ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: Main line of storms with cold front could arrive a bit earlier than forecast. MVFR to IFR conditions in low level moisture overnight tonight into Wednesday morning could vary. 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. UTC 1HRLY 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 00 01 02 EDT 1HRLY 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 CRW CONSISTENCY H H H H H M M M H H H H HTS CONSISTENCY H H M M M M M M H H H H BKW CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H M M H EKN CONSISTENCY H H H M M M M M H H H H PKB CONSISTENCY H H M M M H H H H H H H CKB CONSISTENCY H H M M M M M H H H H H AFTER 18Z WEDNESDAY... River valley fog possible each morning through the weekend. && .RLX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WV...None. OH...None. KY...None. VA...None. && SYNOPSIS...TRM/SL NEAR TERM...TRM SHORT TERM...SL LONG TERM...SL AVIATION...TRM
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Charleston WV 243 PM EDT Tue Aug 22 2017 KYZ101>103-105-OHZ066-067-075-076-083>087-WVZ005>011-013>020-029>032- 039-040-231845- Greenup-Carter-Boyd-Lawrence KY-Perry-Morgan-Athens-Washington- Jackson OH-Vinton-Meigs-Gallia-Lawrence OH-Wayne-Cabell-Mason- Jackson WV-Wood-Pleasants-Tyler-Lincoln-Putnam-Kanawha-Roane-Wirt- Calhoun-Ritchie-Doddridge-Gilmer-Lewis-Harrison-Taylor-Upshur- Barbour- 243 PM EDT Tue Aug 22 2017 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 462 IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM EDT THIS EVENING... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for northeast Kentucky, southeast Ohio, and portions of central West Virginia, northern West Virginia, southern West Virginia and western West Virginia. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the Internet for more information about the following hazards. Severe Thunderstorm Watch. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather conditions according to standard operating procedures. VAZ003-004-WVZ024>028-033-034-515>526-231845- Dickenson-Buchanan-Mingo-Logan-Boone-Clay-Braxton-McDowell-Wyoming- Northwest Raleigh-Southeast Raleigh-Northwest Fayette- Southeast Fayette-Northwest Nicholas-Southeast Nicholas- Northwest Webster-Southeast Webster-Northwest Pocahontas- Southeast Pocahontas-Northwest Randolph-Southeast Randolph- 243 PM EDT Tue Aug 22 2017 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for southwest Virginia, and portions of central West Virginia, northeast West Virginia, southeast West Virginia and southern West Virginia. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
217 PM EDT TUE AUG 22 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0216 PM HAIL 5 SE SOUTH SHORE 38.68N 82.89W
08/22/2017 E0.25 INCH GREENUP KY PUBLIC
&&
JWSpecial Weather Statement
National Weather Service Charleston WV
217 PM EDT TUE AUG 22 2017
OHZ084-221845-
Vinton-
217 PM EDT TUE AUG 22 2017
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT NORTHERN VINTON COUNTY...
At 217 PM EDT, a strong thunderstorm was located 12 miles east of
Chillicothe, moving northeast at 35 mph.
Winds in excess of 40 mph and pea size hail are possible with this
storm.
Locations impacted include...
Lake Hope State Park, Allensville, Creola and Eagle Mills.
Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm, and may cause
localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.
This storm may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio
stations and available television stations for additional information
and possible warnings from the National Weather Service.
LAT...LON 3937 8275 3936 8264 3937 8263 3937 8252
3940 8251 3938 8229 3932 8230 3921 8276
TIME...MOT...LOC 1817Z 247DEG 32KT 3932 8275
09The Charleston,WV radar (KRLX), 48 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:18 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Multiple large limbs were broken and fell down near WV 37.
Two trees were blown down and fell across County Route 40.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in West Virginia in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, August 2017
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: 711461, 711464.