CHARLESTON — There were reports of a tornado touching down several times in Charleston and South Charleston Monday evening as a severe thunderstorm rolled through Kanawha County, a Kanawha Metro 911 dispatcher told the Charleston Gazette-Mail.
A tornado warning was in effect for the two cities from 6:45 p.m. until 7:15 p.m.
Emergency dispatchers received dozens of reports of downed trees and power poles, and residents of the two cities were warned to watch for debris in roadways and remain vigilant for potentially high winds.
Emergency responders were sent to “a few” rescue calls, mostly from people trapped in cars or affected by downed trees, according to a dispatcher.
There were widespread power outages, with Appalachian Power’s outage map showing 20,452 customers without power in Kanawha County at about 8:30 p.m.
“It is my belief that a tornado touched down in several areas of the County. This will be verified by the National Weather Service. However, based on damage we are seeing and pictures that have been provided, it appears a tornado touched down in Kanawha County,” County Commission President Kent Carper said in an emailed statement.
The hardest hit areas were Corridor G, South Hills, the Kanawha State Forest and Pinch, according to the email.
At Yeager Airport, passengers sheltered in place Monday evening as the main terminal building and the Capital Jet Center operated on backup generators, according to an email from the airport.
James Zvolenski, lead forecaster at the National Weather Service’s Charleston office, said it will release a comprehensive storm survey after compiling information received from reports.
From Staff Reports (2019, June 25) WV News
