Two tornadoes occurred on July 27th, 2014 in West Virginia. The first occurred in Pleasants and Ritchie counties, with another taking place in Harrison County:
Tornado #1: Pleasants and Ritchie County
- Rating: EF-1
- Location: 1 miles south of Maxwell, WV
- County: Pleasants and Ritchie counties
- Start Time: 7:15 p.m. (39.3365582, -81.14119277)
- End Time: 7:30 p.m. (39.2993, -81.0817)
- Estimated Peak Wind: 100 mph
- Path Length: 4.23 miles
- Path Width Maximum: 200 yards
- Fatalities: 0
- Injuries: 0
Details from NWS storm survey: The National Weather Service in Charleston, WV has confirmed a tornado near 1 mile south of Maxwell, WV in Pleasants and Ritchie counties, West Virginia on 7/27/2014.
The tornado touched down at approximately 7:15 pm one third of a mile west of Poynette on County Route 20. The storms moved from northwest to southeast, paralleling County Route 20, also called Left Fork Road. The storm survey team then found the end of the path in Ritchie County on Old Street. This area is along the Pleasants and Ritchie County line. The tornado lifted around 7:30 pm.
The total path length of the tornado was determined to be about 4.23 miles. The tornado was rated an EF-1 with maximum winds of 100 mph based on the healthy hardwood trees that were snapped and uprooted.
Tornado Watch #447 was issued at 1:45 pm for Pleasants and Ritchie counties. A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued at 6:23 pm, valid until 7:30 pm.
Tornado #2: Johnstown, WV
- Rating: EF-1
- Location: Johnstown, WV
- County: Harrison
- Start Location: 8:50 p.m. (39.1202, -80.2948)
- End Location: (39.1187, -80.2750)
- Estimated Peak Wind: 100 mph
- Path Length: 1.1 miles
- Path Width Maximum: 50 yards
- Fatalities: 0
- Injuries: 0
Details from NWS storm survey: The tornado touched down at approximately 8:50 pm about 1 mile east-southeast of the intersection of Johnstown Road and Branch of Lost Creek. The first evidence of a tornadic circulation was on the ridgetop on County Route 48/15, where numerous trees where downed. The tornado continued across County Route 52, where additional trees and power lines were down. At this point, the tornado struck the Johnstown Church, which was built in 1884 of brick construction. It is believed the roof was lifted from the church and then fell back into place. In doing so, it caused structural damage to the back wall. Those familiar with the church also said there were new cracks on the side wall near the windows. The church steeple was also damaged. The tornado continued to the east-northeast before lifting near the next ridgetop.
The total path length of the tornado was determined to be about 1.1 miles. The tornado was rated an EF-1 with maximum winds of 100 mph based on the healthy trees that were snapped and uprooted and the damage to the church.
In addition to tornado damage, the survey team found evidence of straight-line wind damage, starting at County Route of 48/4. There was intermittent straight-line wind damage ending in Barbour County near the communities of Century, Century 2 and Volga.
Tornado Watch #447 was issued at 1:45 pm for Harrison County. A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued at 8:33 pm valid until 9:00 pm. A Tornado Warning was issued at 8:47 pm EDT for southeastern Harrison County valid until 9:15 pm.
Photo of Storm Damage
All storm photos provided by the National Weather Service in Charleston, WV. Scroll down for more imagery from each tornado.
Radar Imagery
4-Panel Loop of Both Tornadoes (Base Reflectivity, Base Velocity, NROT, CC)
Tornado #1
4-Panel Near Time of Storm (Base Reflectivity, Base Velocity, NROT, CC)
Base Reflectivity
Base Velocity
Normalized Rotation
Tornado #2
4-Panel Near Time of Storm (Base Reflectivity, Base Velocity, NROT, CC)
Base Reflectivity
Base Velocity
Normalized Rotation
Correlation Coefficient
Photos of Damage from Tornado #1 (All Photos Provided by the National Weather Service - Charleston, WV)
Photos of Damage from Tornado #2 (All Photos Provided by the National Weather Service - Charleston, WV)
