A mainly stationary front sprawled across southeast Ohio and West Virginia on the 26th and 27th of May, then a cold front arrived and sank down through the middle Ohio Valley and central Appalachians. This second front exited to the south by mid day on the 28th.
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.
A mainly stationary front sprawled across southeast Ohio and West Virginia on the 26th and 27th of May, then a cold front arrived and sank down through the middle Ohio Valley and central Appalachians. This second front exited to the south by mid day on the 28th. Precipitation spread north across the area on the 26th, then additional rounds of rain and storms continued to traverse the area through the 27th.
With soils already saturated from previous rainfall, the additional one to three inches of rain that fell over northeast Kentucky prompted more flooded roads in Greenup and minor flooding on portions of Tygarts Creek.
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 May 27, 12:46 PM EST, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Charleston WV
146 PM EDT Wed May 27 2026
.WHAT HAS CHANGED...
Severe thunderstorm watch issued through 9 PM, primarily for
locally damaging wind gusts. Potential locally significant
flood impacts in areas that already received very heavy rain
today.
&&
.KEY MESSAGES...
1.) Severe thunderstorms are possible this afternoon and
evening with damaging wind gusts being the primary hazard, with
wet soils tree damage may occur well below 58 mph.
2.) Flash flood risk continues through tonight, particularly
across northern West Virginia where training storms already
produced a swath of heavy rain this morning.
3.) Dense fog and/or very low stratus will likely develop late
tonight into Thursday morning.
4.) Dry and seasonable conditions return Thursday and will
largely persist through the upcoming weekend.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
KEY MESSAGE 1...
A warm front has halted its northward progression and will
transition into a slow moving cold front this afternoon. Ahead
of this boundary, breaks in the cloud cover have allowed surface
based instability to build to 1500 to 2000 J/kg, capitalizing on
a moisture rich boundary layer despite weak mid-level lapse
rates. Deep layer shear of 25 to 30KTs will support a mix of
multicell and transient supercell structures. The primary severe
hazard will be damaging wind gusts. Given antecedent heavy
rainfall, soils are at least partially compromised across the
region. Consequently, tree uprooting is likely to occur at sub
severe wind speeds as low as 40 mph, with more substantial
damage possible in any 50 to 60 mph gusts. With low LCLs in
place, a brief tornado cannot be entirely ruled out, though weak
and largely unidirectional low level wind profiles suggest this
threat is minimal outside of storm scale interaction. High wet
bulb zeros near 11kft should limit hail risk outside of the
strongest updrafts or left splits.
KEY MESSAGE 2...
Regarding the flash flood threat, while individual storm motions
remain progressive at 20 to 30KTs within westerly flow,
training of convection along the slowly sagging front could
allow for significant convective dwell time over any given spot.
The most critical area for flash flooding is along a line from
Spencer to Philippi, where additional training convection this
afternoon and evening will exacerbate conditions over soils that
are already compromised from morning rainfall. Elsewhere north
of US-50, training storms may yield minor to pockets of moderate
flooding issues. Father south across the Metro Valley,
scattered to numerous storms early this afternoon near the I-64
corridor will continue to precondition soils for rapid runoff
with later activity, although the later activity should become
more progressive by the time it crosses I-64 as a mid-level
short wave approaches this evening. Existing flash flood watch
in effect through 2 AM looks to cover this threat adequately,
with northern sections likely being able to be dropped early.
KEY MESSAGE 3...
Tonight into Thursday, the aforementioned mid level wave will
sweep the front south of the area. However, the arrival of
substantially drier air will lag behind the frontal passage.
Amidst weakening surface winds and partially clearing skies from
the north, conditions will become highly favorable for the
development of dense fog and very low stratus late tonight into
Thursday morning.
KEY MESSAGE 4...
By Thursday afternoon, drier air will firmly settle across the
region, bringing a return to more seasonable temperatures and
generally quiet weather. A dry pattern is anticipated to persist
through the upcoming weekend. A weak backdoor cold front will
pass through on Saturday, serving mainly to reinforce the dry
airmass. This dry air could yield some chilly temperatures,
upper 30s to lower 40s in the mountain valleys for late May.
Looking ahead to early next week, a weak disturbance dropping
out of Canada may bring a return of light rain chances on
Monday, but the overall pattern appears largely dry.
&&
.AVIATION /18Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/...
Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms will continue to
impact the terminals this afternoon and evening as a cold front
slowly sags southward. Have utilized TEMPO groups for MVFR
conditions with the most likely timing of convection, as direct
terminal impacts remain difficult to pinpoint. However,
localized IFR restrictions are possible in the heaviest
downpours. Winds will generally remain light outside of
thunderstorms, occasionally gusting from the west or northwest.
As the front pushes south of the area tonight, precipitation
will wane. However, drier air will lag behind the boundary. The
combination of wet soils, clearing skies, and light winds will
set the stage for widespread fog and low stratus development
late tonight into Thursday morning. IFR to LIFR visibilities and
ceilings are expected to develop at most terminals after 06Z,
lingering through mid morning Thursday before mixing out to VFR.
FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND ALTERNATE SCENARIOS THROUGH 18Z THURSDAY...
FORECAST CONFIDENCE: Medium.
ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: Timing and intensity of showers and
thunderstorms could vary. Overnight fog density and coverage may
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 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 00 01 02 03 04
EDT 1HRLY 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 00
CRW CONSISTENCY M H H H H H H H H H H H
HTS CONSISTENCY M H H H H H H H H H H H
BKW CONSISTENCY M H H H H H H H H M H H
EKN CONSISTENCY M H H H H H H H H H H H
PKB CONSISTENCY H M M H H H H H H H H H
CKB CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H L H
AFTER 18Z THURSDAY...
IFR possible in morning fog Saturday/Sunday mornings.
&&
.RLX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WV...Flood Watch through late tonight for WVZ006>011-014>020-
027>032-039-040-521-522-525-526.
OH...Flood Watch through late tonight for OHZ066-067-075-076-
083>087.
KY...Flood Watch through late tonight for KYZ101>103.
VA...None.
&&
DISCUSSION...JP
AVIATION...JPPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Charleston WV
509 PM EDT Wed May 27 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0415 PM Rain 1 N Weston 39.05N 80.47W
05/27/2026 M2.08 Inch Lewis WV Trained Spotter
Trained spotter in Weston measured 2.08
inches of rainfall since 6 am today.
&&Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Charleston WV
511 PM EDT Wed May 27 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0336 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 9 N Salem 39.41N 80.53W
05/27/2026 Harrison WV 911 Call Center
Tree down blocking Sycamore Fork Rd near the
Doddridge County line. Time estimated by
radar.
&&Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Charleston WV
524 PM EDT Wed May 27 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0410 PM Flash Flood 2 N Point Pleasant 38.89N 82.12W
05/27/2026 Mason WV Public
Pictures on social media of flash flooding
covering parts of Ohio River Rd near Scenic
Dr in Point Pleasant.
&&Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Charleston WV
530 PM EDT Wed May 27 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0516 PM Flash Flood 7 ENE Philippi 39.18N 79.91W
05/27/2026 Barbour WV 911 Call Center
Multiple homes flooded on rt 38 just past
the service station on Morgantown Pike.
&&Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Charleston WV
538 PM EDT Wed May 27 2026
VAZ003-004-272215-
Dickenson VA-Buchanan VA-
538 PM EDT Wed May 27 2026
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT NORTHERN DICKENSON AND
SOUTHWESTERN BUCHANAN COUNTIES THROUGH 615 PM EDT...
At 538 PM EDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over
Cedarville, or near Breaks Interstate, moving east at 30 mph.
HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 40 mph and pea size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to vegetation is
possible.
Locations impacted include...
Grundy, Haysi, Breaks Interstate, John Flannagan Lake, Big Rock,
Stacy, Vansant, and Roseann.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm and may lead to
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 3722 8250 3724 8245 3727 8235 3728 8234
3728 8232 3730 8231 3739 8218 3738 8194
3713 8199 3711 8201
TIME...MOT...LOC 2138Z 279DEG 29KT 3730 8239
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN
MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH
5Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Charleston WV
556 PM EDT Wed May 27 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0520 PM Flash Flood 1 NE Point Pleasant 38.86N 82.12W
05/27/2026 Mason WV Amateur Radio
Water rescue due to car into water at
Allison Rd and Jerico Rd.
&&
JPThe Charleston,WV radar (KRLX), 113 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:14 UTC.
2 flash flood, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
High water was observed in the 6000 block of State Route 10 near the Route 7 intersection.
Several instances of flash flooding occurred from Lloyd up to South Shore. Lower White Oak, Flat Hollow, Buck Hollow and Billups Fork Road were heavily affected with washouts. Some homes were flooded and multiple trees and powerlines were down due to landslides.
Tygarts Creek above Olive Hill rose above a bankfull level of 10 feet the night of May 27. After cresting around 10.4 feet, the creek quickly returned to its banks overnight. At 10 feet, Bond Hollow Road, agricultural fields, and soccer fields near the creek begin to flood.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, May 2026
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: 1335220, 1335221, 1335612.