Winter Storm and Flooding in West Virginia, February 19 to 21, 2019

Name: Winter Storm and Flooding in West Virginia, February 19 to 21, 2019
Start: 2019-02-19T06:00
End: 2019-02-21T09:45
Location: West Virginia

February 19 to 21, 2019 · NWS RLX · 11 events in 10 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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: $38,000
Crop damage: None recorded
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 RLX wrote it up.

A strong storm system moved out of the Plains into the Great Lakes on the 19th and 20th. Cold air was in place along the eastern slopes of the central Appalachians as precipitation started late on the 19th, with snow turning to freezing rain as low level warm air moved in. Total ice accumulations of 0.2 to 0.3 were seen across portions of eastern Fayette and Raleigh Counties by mid morning on the 20th. Farther north along the ridges of Pocahontas and Randolph Counties, more sleet and snow fell. Still, a period of freezing rain resulted in enough ice accretion on several of the ski lifts at Snowshoe to necessitate taking them out of service for a brief time on the 20th. Warmer air continued to overtake the region through the day, with periods of moderate to heavy rainfall into the afternoon. Rainfall amounts ranged from 1 to 1.5 inches. This rain fell on already saturated soil and led to minor flooding in multiple areas.

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 Charleston, WV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 19, 3:40 AM EST, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 19, 3:40 AM EST, 2 hours 20 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 19, 3:27 AM EST, 2 hours 33 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

7 flood, 4 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Northwest Pocahontas

When: February 19, 6:00 AM EST to February 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Northwest Pocahontas forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 38.332, -80.008 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southeast Randolph

When: February 19, 6:00 AM EST to February 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Southeast Randolph forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 38.775, -79.876 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southeast Raleigh

When: February 19, 11:00 PM EST to February 20, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Southeast Raleigh forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 37.771, -81.249 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southeast Raleigh

When: February 19, 11:00 PM EST to February 20, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Southeast Raleigh forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 37.771, -81.249 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Ritchie

When: February 20, 8:45 AM EST to February 21, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Ritchie County, 1.1 mi NE of Oil Spg to 0.77 mi WNW of Thursday
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 39.230, -81.264

Multiple roads were closed near Ellenboro and Pennsboro due to flooding. Along Bonds Creek Road north of Ellenboro, a driver became stuck in the flood waters and the WV National Guard 104th Aviation Battalion was called in to rescue them via helicopter since the water was expected to remain high for quite some time. The driver was not injured.

Flood, Harrison

When: February 20, 9:35 AM EST to 12:35 PM EST
Where: Harrison County, 0.43 mi S of Stonewood to 0.81 mi SE of Clarksburg
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $8,000
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 39.244, -80.321

Flooding along Ann Run closed a section of Benedum Drive in Bridgeport. In Nutter Fort, flooding along Elk Creek cause high water to enter a building at the end of Illinois Avenue.

Flood, Jackson

When: February 20, 9:40 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Jackson County, 2.11 mi SSW of Crow Summit to 1.2 mi SW of Silverton
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 38.870, -81.689

Several roads were closed due to flooding around Sandyville. This included Copper Fork Road along Copper Fork and County Route 21 along the Left Fork of Sandy Creek.

Flood, McDowell

When: February 20, 4:09 PM EST to 6:09 PM EST
Where: McDowell County, 1.88 mi SW of Rockridge to 1.72 mi WSW of Bradshaw
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 37.359, -81.872

High water along Tug Fork closed several roads near Beartown.

Flood, Doddridge

When: February 20, 5:00 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Doddridge County, 1.69 mi NW of Central Station to 1.96 mi NNW of St Clara
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 39.319, -80.841

Middle Island Creek flooded, covering Route 18 in several spots. This included near Ford Crossing and also near Cline Stansberry Stadium in West Union. Meathouse Fork also flooded a section of Route 25.

Flood, Mason

When: February 20, 8:32 PM EST to 11:32 PM EST
Where: Mason County, 0.89 mi SW of Point Pleasant Arpt to 2.01 mi SE of Maggie
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 38.910, -82.110

County Route 13 was flooded near Bethel Church Road due to high water on Oldtown Creek.

Flood, Tyler

When: February 21, 12:17 AM EST to 9:45 AM EST
Where: Tyler County, 1.07 mi W of Meadville to 0.69 mi SSE of Middlebourne
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: River/Stream Gage
Coordinates: 39.420, -81.020

Middle Island Creak near Little flooded, closing a section of Stewarts Run Road and flooding low lying fields along the creek. The stream gage near Little showed the creek rose above its 14 foot bankfull level just after midnight on the 21st. It crested at 15 feet around sunrise, and returned to its banks by late morning.

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in West Virginia in 2019 Every state in 2019 This day in weather history Warnings in West Virginia, February 2019

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: 799426, 799427, 799412, 799413, 799673, 799416, 799677, 799414, 799670, 799415, 800053.