The Inter-Mountain photos by Taylor McKinnie Multiple trees were damaged, downed or ripped from the ground in Valley Bend during Thursday morning's severe wind and rain storm.

CHARLESTON — A line of “low pressure system” storms Thursday morning led to intense damage to trees and homes, as well as thousands of power outages throughout in Randolph, Upshur and Tucker counties.

Joe Curtis, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said the state experienced a low pressure system Thursday morning, specifically a line of storms and the head of a cold front. Curtis said that the storms were scattered throughout the state.

When asked about the rainfall in north central West Virginia, Curtis told The Inter-Mountain the area saw a half an inch to an inch of rain. He said the NWS received “a good bit” of “tree down: reports in the north central area.

In Randolph County, 1,735 residences were without power as of 9:25 a.m. on Thursday, according to First Energy. A total of 295 homes without electricity were reported in Mill Creek, with 276 reported in Beverly, 268 in Coalton, 255 in Mabie, 164 in Elkins, 140 in Whitmer, 104 in Harman and 73 in Valley Bend.

“Residents across the county have been experiencing widespread power outages and significant disruptions due to severe weather,” Randolph County 911/OEM Chief of Operations Mercedes Herron-Cross told The Inter-Mountain on Thursday. “Since 7:40 a.m. this morning, the 911 center has received 19 calls reporting trees down throughout the county. Five of these incidents involved downed power lines, with two reports of arcing and/or fire.”

Arcing refers to a dangerous jump of electrical current through the air or a gap between two conductors.

One Randolph County resident, Katelyn Campion, told The Inter-Mountain that, during the morning storm, a tree fell onto her home on Ellis Ridge Road. The tree destroyed the home’s porch and took out a large part of the entire residence’s roof. The tree had been removed by 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Campion said, and a relative of Campion’s stated that after the storm, you could stand inside the home, look up and see the sky.

The Inter-Mountain photos by Taylor McKinnie
Multiple trees were damaged, downed or ripped from the ground in Valley Bend during Thursday morning’s severe wind and rain storm.

The Valley Bend area also saw heavy impact from the storm. An Inter-Mountain reporter who visited the scene observed multiple trees were damaged, downed or completely ripped from the ground after the storm.

Cross added in a later statement that multiple fire departments had been actively responding to calls across various areas. Assistance was also being provided by the West Virginia Department of Highways and the Elkins Street Department for debris removal, with Mon Power working on power restoration efforts while being in “storm mode.”

“We urge residents to exercise extreme caution and remain aware of your surroundings, as conditions can change rapidly,” Cross said in regard to possible severe storms in the future. “In the event of an emergency, please call 911. For non-imminent dangers, please call the 911 center’s cold line at 304-636-2000.”

Submitted photo
A house on Ellis Ridge Road received extreme damage from Thursday’s storm after a tree fell on top of it, taking out the porch and most of the roof.

In Tucker County, 629 residences were without electricity as of 9:25 a.m. Thursday, First Energy officials said. Of that total, 483 residences were without power in Hambleton, and 144 in Parsons.

“Basically, the storm caused some downed trees. Limbs and branches in the road, things like that,” Tucker County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Kevin White told The Inter-Mountain on Thursday. “Power outages were the main damage of the storm. Traffic was backed up out of Parsons on 219 North towards Thomas due to an auto accident.”

White said that, by that afternoon, there were very few outages left in the area. At that point, all other infrastructure was “stable and operational.” White added that, in the event of another bad storm, residents should always be prepared for 72 hours of self-sustainability. They should prepare food, water and an evacuation plan in case a minor situations becomes larger.

In Upshur County, 1,440 homes were without power on Thursday, officials said. A total of 709 homes without electricity were reported in French Creek, with 290 in Rock Cave, 206 in Tallmansville, 110 in Buckhannon and 59 in Adrian.

Only five homes were without power on Thursday morning in Barbour County, and only two in Pocahontas County, according to First Energy.

“We had some reports of flooding in the Parkersburg area (on Thursday). We had a lot of ‘tree down’ reports, really, across the entire state,” Curtis told The Inter-Mountain. “Across the southern part of West Virginia we did have a good bit of damage reported. In terms of rainfall, the most rainfall that we’re seeing is across the northern half of West Virginia; specifically around that Parkersburg area, we had about two to three inches of rain.”

When asked if West Virginians should expect more storms in the coming days, Curtis stated that today and Sunday were expected to be dry, while the next chance of rain and thunderstorms was expected to occur Sunday night going into Monday morning.