Heavy Snow and Strong Wind in West Virginia, December 4 to 5, 2024

Name: Heavy Snow and Strong Wind in West Virginia, December 4 to 5, 2024
Start: 2024-12-04T19:00
End: 2024-12-05T16:00
Location: West Virginia

December 4 to 5, 2024 · NWS RLX · 41 events in 37 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 41 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: $51,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 41

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.

During the late evening hours of December 4th, a cold front progressed through the Ohio Valley and promoted strong to gusty winds in its wake. The front arrived into West Virginia around midnight and swept through the state during the early morning on the 5th. The strongest winds were measured along the Ohio River Valley, with a member of the public observing a 51 mile per hour gust at their home near Point Pleasant. Gusts of 30 to 35 miles per hour were common around the state during that time as the front continued its passage overhead. Downed trees and power lines resulted in thousands of power outages to customers within West Virginia. After celebrating the Christmas Tree lighting at the capitol in Charleston earlier that evening, the front caused the tree to be knocked down and broke numerous ornaments that were placed along it. Winds subsided quickly after sunrise on the 5th as high pressure built into the Tennessee Valley.

In addition to the contribution of strong winds from the frontal passage, moderate to heavy snow showers were observed along the higher terrain of the West Virginia mountains. One to four inches of snow fell from the evening of December 4th into the next afternoon, with the highest accumulations observed in Randolph County. The aforementioned building surface high led to snow showers diminishing quickly on December 5th.

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 Dec 4, 2:36 PM EST, 4 hours 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 4, 2:36 PM EST, 4 hours 24 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 4, 4:56 AM EST, 14 hours 4 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

31 strong wind, 6 winter weather, 4 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Barbour

When: December 4, 7:00 PM EST to December 5, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Barbour forecast zone
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: 911 Call Center
Coordinates: 39.133, -80.003 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Southeast Nicholas

When: December 4, 7:00 PM EST to December 5, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Southeast Nicholas forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 38.292, -80.799 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Northwest Pocahontas

When: December 4, 7:00 PM EST to December 5, 4:00 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 Weather, Northwest Randolph

When: December 4, 7:00 PM EST to December 5, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Northwest Randolph forecast zone
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 38.775, -79.876 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Southeast Webster

When: December 4, 7:00 PM EST to December 5, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Southeast Webster forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 38.495, -80.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Upshur

When: December 4, 7:00 PM EST to December 5, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Upshur forecast zone
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 38.898, -80.233 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southeast Randolph

When: December 4, 7:00 PM EST to December 5, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Southeast Randolph forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 38.775, -79.876 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southeast Randolph

When: December 4, 7:00 PM EST to December 5, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Southeast Randolph forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 38.775, -79.876 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southeast Randolph

When: December 4, 7:00 PM EST to December 5, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Southeast Randolph forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 38.775, -79.876 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southeast Randolph

When: December 4, 7:00 PM EST to December 5, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Southeast Randolph forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 38.775, -79.876 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Wood

When: December 5, 12:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Wood forecast zone
Measured: 47 kt (54 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 39.211, -81.515 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Braxton

When: December 5, 1:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Braxton forecast zone
Measured: 30 kt (35 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: Utility Company
Coordinates: 38.700, -80.719 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Harrison

When: December 5, 1:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Harrison forecast zone
Measured: 41 kt (47 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $500
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 39.284, -80.380 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Jackson

When: December 5, 1:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Jackson forecast zone
Measured: 37 kt (43 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 38.835, -81.675 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Kanawha

When: December 5, 1:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Kanawha forecast zone
Measured: 37 kt (43 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 38.337, -81.528 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Lewis

When: December 5, 1:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Lewis forecast zone
Measured: 30 kt (35 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 38.996, -80.502 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Lincoln

When: December 5, 1:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Lincoln forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Utility Company
Coordinates: 38.175, -82.070 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Logan

When: December 5, 1:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Logan forecast zone
Measured: 33 kt (38 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 37.832, -81.935 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Mason

When: December 5, 1:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Mason forecast zone
Measured: 44 kt (51 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $8,000
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 38.770, -82.026 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, McDowell

When: December 5, 1:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: McDowell forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: Utility Company
Coordinates: 37.379, -81.654 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Mingo

When: December 5, 1:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Mingo forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: 911 Call Center
Coordinates: 37.726, -82.135 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Pleasants

When: December 5, 1:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Pleasants forecast zone
Measured: 30 kt (35 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: Utility Company
Coordinates: 39.371, -81.161 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Putnam

When: December 5, 1:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Putnam forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: Utility Company
Coordinates: 38.509, -81.909 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Roane

When: December 5, 1:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Roane forecast zone
Measured: 30 kt (35 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: Utility Company
Coordinates: 38.714, -81.348 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Tyler

When: December 5, 1:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Tyler forecast zone
Measured: 30 kt (35 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: Utility Company
Coordinates: 39.465, -80.885 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Upshur

When: December 5, 1:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Upshur forecast zone
Measured: 37 kt (43 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 38.898, -80.233 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Wirt

When: December 5, 1:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Wirt forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $500
Reported by: Utility Company
Coordinates: 39.022, -81.379 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Cabell

When: December 5, 2:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Cabell forecast zone
Measured: 31 kt (36 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 38.420, -82.242 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Calhoun

When: December 5, 2:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Calhoun forecast zone
Measured: 30 kt (35 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: Utility Company
Coordinates: 38.845, -81.118 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Doddridge

When: December 5, 2:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Doddridge forecast zone
Measured: 30 kt (35 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: Utility Company
Coordinates: 39.269, -80.707 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Ritchie

When: December 5, 2:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Ritchie forecast zone
Measured: 30 kt (35 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: 911 Call Center
Coordinates: 39.178, -81.063 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Taylor

When: December 5, 2:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Taylor forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 39.336, -80.046 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Northwest Webster

When: December 5, 2:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Northwest Webster forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: Utility Company
Coordinates: 38.495, -80.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Wayne

When: December 5, 2:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Wayne forecast zone
Measured: 40 kt (46 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 38.146, -82.427 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Wyoming

When: December 5, 2:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Wyoming forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: Utility Company
Coordinates: 37.610, -81.549 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Northwest Fayette

When: December 5, 3:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Northwest Fayette forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $500
Reported by: Utility Company
Coordinates: 38.029, -81.081 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Southeast Fayette

When: December 5, 3:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Southeast Fayette forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $500
Reported by: Utility Company
Coordinates: 38.029, -81.081 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Northwest Nicholas

When: December 5, 3:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Northwest Nicholas forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: Utility Company
Coordinates: 38.292, -80.799 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Southeast Pocahontas

When: December 5, 3:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Southeast Pocahontas forecast zone
Measured: 30 kt (35 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $500
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 38.332, -80.008 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Northwest Raleigh

When: December 5, 3:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Northwest Raleigh forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $250
Reported by: Utility Company
Coordinates: 37.771, -81.249 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Southeast Raleigh

When: December 5, 3:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Southeast Raleigh forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $250
Reported by: Utility Company
Coordinates: 37.771, -81.249 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.
Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
Strong Wind: Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in West Virginia in 2024 Every state in 2024 This day in weather history Warnings in West Virginia, December 2024

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1223617, 1224191, 1224192, 1224193, 1224194, 1224195, 1224251, 1224252, 1224253, 1224258, 1225139, 1223619, 1223622, 1223623, 1223624, 1223625, 1223626, 1223627, 1223632, 1223633, 1223634, 1223636, 1223681, 1223683, 1223685, 1225135, 1225138, 1223618, 1223620, 1223621, 1223682, 1223684, 1225134, 1225136, 1225140, 1223635, 1225129, 1225130, 1225131, 1225132, and more.