Information on the Record-Breaking April 2nd Tornadoes and Wind Damage

Summary:

A broken path of damage was noted on the Kentucky side of the tornado track beginning at the Riverview Cemetery west of Greenup. Additional damage occurred on Seaton Avenue near South 5th Street and in the Greenup Fairgrounds where a few buildings suffered roof damage and a large tree fell onto another building. The tornado then likely tracked along the river before intersecting land again on the Kentucky side and causing roof and tree damage to several homes along Calumet Drive.

The tornado finally crossed the river and impacted a campground on the Ohio side at Hanging Rock. More significant damage was noted here as several travel trailers were overturned, the roof was blown off of the Laidback Bar and significant tree damage was noted in the adjacent camping area. Drone footage showed campers tossed in a counter-clockwise motion and some convergence in the tree damage. A salt storage dome was also destroyed in this area causing significant injury to an employee.

The tornado continued to track eastward, damaging a few homes and damaging the roof and ballfields at Ironton Middle School. The tornado weakened but continued to cause some sporadic damage to homes all the way to the Storms Creek Flood Wall.

Summary:

An EF1 tornado skipped along a path of straight-line wind damage likely beginning along Daniels Fork Rd, continuing across State Route 5, continuing eastward crossing Rose Road and then ending at the top of the hill after crossing Pine St. The most significant damage occurred along Rose Rd. A single-wide trailer was flipped over, a section of a home was broken off from the rest of the structure and moved several feet, and several other homes and structures were significantly damaged.

Summary:

Summary:

An EF1 tornado began near Aid-Oak Ridge Rd and traveled northeastward through mostly pastureland, knocking down a few trees on the north edge of the path and where it crossed Symmes Creek. The tornado continued northeast, blowing the roof off of two homes and another structure and rolling a travel trailer near where it crossed State Route 141. The last noted damage was some tin panels blown up on a barn roof shortly after the tornado crossed State Route 141.

An EMS employee stationed at the nearby Lawrence County EMS Station 5 witnessed the tornado as it traveled across the field in front of the station.

Some minor wind damage, not likely associated with the tornado, occurred at the Symmes Valley High School.

Summary:

Summary:

Summary:

EF1 Tornado with maximum winds of 105 mph confirmed with a track of about 4 miles extending from just south of Route 2 to the Guyandotte River to just west of the Barboursville Mall. This was a non-continuous track with several notable damage locations.

A narrow concentrated area of hardwood tree damage was noted on a hilltop along Viewpoint Lane. Several of the trees were either snapped or uprooted in a converging pattern and continued southeast along Estate Drive.

Significant mixed hardwood and softwood tree damage was observed along Guyan River Road with most of intense damage along the banks of the Guyandotte River. Numerous large hardwood and softwood trees were either snapped or uprooted. Damage to a mobile home occurred due to a large fallen tree. In addition, damage to the roof of an apartment complex on the other side of the river on Beech Drive occurred from a fallen tree. This section of the track is where the maximum winds are believed to have occurred.

The tornado path continued eastward with a distinct damage swath of hardwood trees was noted along Merritts Creek Road. Large hardwood trees were either snapped or uprooted in a converging pattern. A small mobile office unit was blown in the opposite direction of the orientation of the tree damage. It is here where the tornado reached is maximum width as it entered a valley. Tree damage continued east up the ridgetop along Big Ben Bowen Highway before ending along Wildcat Road. The tornado is believed to have lifted before reaching the Barboursville mall and this is supported by radar. This tornado, as with many of the others on this day, stayed mainly in the treetops with little in the way of property damage observed.

Of note, rear flank downdraft wind damage occurred east and southeast of the tornado path, where a concrete block wall attached to the exterior of the mall was blown apart to the northeast. In addition, part of the roof of a business just east of the mall was lifted and blown to the northeast as well. Finally, scattered tree damage was observed on both sides of Interstate 64 east of the mall, with a general orientation to the northeast.

Summary:

Summary:

Summary:

Summary:

EF1 tornado with maximum winds of 100 mph began in the St. Albans Park. Significant uprooting of hardwood trees oriented in a north- northeast direction was observed along City Park Drive. On the adjacent side of the road there were a mixture of hard and softwood trees that were either uprooted or snapped, oriented in a southeast direction indicating a clear converging damage swath. Based on a combination of drone footage and ground surveys it was determined that the tornado skipped eastward, embedded in an larger swath of straight-line wind damage, from Saint Albans to Jefferson to Dunbar and ending in the Roxalana area. This was a non-continuous path with several noted areas of concentrated damage.

In Saint Albans, several homes in the area just west of Cunningham Memorial Park were damaged from fallen hardwood and softwood trees of decent size and health. One home was missing a section of wall on the east side of the structure. Multiple homes in the area of Hughes Drive, Lotus Road, and Squires Drive received damage from mixed hardwood and softwood trees that have fallen. Some of the trees were rather large and healthy.

In Jefferson, several trees of mixed hardwood and softwood along MacCorkle Avenue, Kanawha Terrace, Hampshire Drive, and Campbell Lane were uprooted or snapped with some falling on homes. Drone footage showed a path of convergent tree damage descending a hill and crossing Rt. 60 in Jefferson where the roof was blown off of a home.

In Dunbar, several trees around Dutch Hollow, Grandview, and into Roxalana Road were either snapped or uprooted with some siding and shingle damage noted to several homes and apartment buildings. A large billboard on Fairlawn Avenue, next to a restaurant and Interstate 64, was knocked over onto a car.

Summary:

EF2 Tornado with maximum winds of 115 mph confirmed with a track of about 8 miles extending from Cross Lanes, West Virginia to just south of the community of Wallace, West Virginia. This was a non- continuous path of with three notable damage locations. Significant converging tree damage was observed along Hidden Pines Lane in Cross Lanes where several large and healthy softwood trees were snapped at their bases along with uprooting of many large hardwood trees. Minor damage to homes was noted adjacent of this location along Hidden Cove.

The second location where significant converging tree damage was observed was along a narrow stretch of the 5000 block Rocky Fork Road, near Tyler Mountain Memory Gardens, where a utility pole was snapped at the base along with several uprooted mixed hardwood and softwood trees. This damage extended to a subdivision on Lynn Oak Drive where several large softwood and hardwood trees were either snapped or uprooted. This included a large hardwood tree that fell on a home, which resulted in significant damage to the second story; a resident`s john boat and camper were also flipped over and crushed by large trees in this area.

The final location where damage was noted occurred just south of the community of Wallace, West Virginia along the 4000 block of Sissonville Drive and Whittington Road. This is where several large softwood trees were either snapped or uprooted. In addition, sporadic tree damage was noted just of the overall track, resulting from straight line winds.

Summary:

Summary:

Summary:

Summary:

Summary:

Summary:

A broken path of damage was noted from near the intersection of State St and Shirkey St to the Fairland West Elementary School. Little to no convergence was noted in debris along the damage path consistent with a microburst. The north wall of the Proctorville Fire Department built of unreinforced concrete block was destroyed with the roof completely removed from the rear portion of the structure. The roof at the Fairland West Elementary School was also partially removed.

Summary:

Notable softwood and hardwood tree damage was observed in the Sherwood Forest area along Corridor G. Sporadic tree damage was noted northeastward along the Corridor G area to the Kanawha River.

Summary:

A macroburst with maximum winds to 90 mph confirmed in western Kanawha County, WV with a path extending eastward from Saint Albans to Jefferson to Dunbar and ending in South Charleston. This was a non-continuous path with several noted areas of concentrated damage. All damage showed a mostly divergent, non- tornadic pattern.

In Saint Albans, several homes in the area just west of Cunningham Memorial Park were damaged from fallen hardwood and softwood trees of decent size and health. One home was missing a section of wall on the east side of the structure. Multiple homes in the area of Hughes Drive, Lotus Road, and Squires Drive received damage from mixed hardwood and softwood trees that have fallen. Some of the trees were rather large and healthy.

In Jefferson, several trees of mixed hardwood and softwood along MacCorkle Avenue, Kanawha Terrace, Hampshire Drive, and Campbell Lane were uprooted or snapped.

In Dunbar, several trees around Dutch Hollow, Grandview, and into Roxalana Road were either snapped or uprooted with some siding and shingle damage noted to several homes. A large billboard on Fairlawn Avenue, next to a restaurant and Interstate 64, was knocked over.

In South Charleston, a few buildings received roof damage including the police station and the public library. A large warehouse building had sections of roof peeled off.

Summary:

A NWS survey team has confirmed a microburst with maximum winds of 100 mph in the communities of Jodie and Swiss along the Nicholas and Fayette County line. Notable significant damage was first observed along Jodie Road where large mixed hardwood and softwood trees were either uprooted or snapped. Uprooted trees were generally oriented in a north to northeast direction. This damage extended along the banks of the Gauley River and up the slopes of the adjacent hillsides. In addition, a roof was blown off of a home along with an attached car port from a different home. The tree dame continued northeast, crossing State Route 39, and ended up a narrow ravine on the north side of the road. It is here where numerous large hardwood trees were uprooted in a general northeast direction.

While there were isolated signs of converging tree damage, likely from steep terrain induced wind patterns, the overwhelming evidence indicated the occurrence of a microburst. This conclusion was further supported by radar interrogation.