Storms Break Summer Heat

It has been a helter skelter Tuesday across the region with 2 lines of powerful storms bisecting wsaz.com land.

The morning storm line swept thru pre-dawn with an electrifying display of lightning and a cannon ball crescendo of thunder. At 5:50, I jumped from bed when a shock wave of thunder awakened me from a sound sleep.

In a few seconds, I raced to my Apple PC and TV and unplugged the electrical connection. In so doing, I broke a safety rule which is to not unplug anything during the heart of a storm. I took a chance that a power surge from a fresh bolt would not zap me. Had it, I would have been toast!

Clearly then, the time to unplug electrical appliances/equipment is before the storm arrives not during the storm itself.

This first storm line had fed on the tropically hot and muggy atmosphere that had settled into the Ohio, Kanawha and Big Sandy Valleys. For awhile last evening, it felt like the jungle with temperatures near 80 and humidity levels in the steamy 70s for late night joggers.

This initial storm line traveled along and north of the AA highway thru Northern Kentucky and Southern Ohio on its way into Central and Northern WV. Reports of wind damage from Athens, Vinton, Scioto and Jackson Ohio included trees toppled and homes damaged.

Moving at brake-neck speed, the storm then motored thru Central WV and left the Mountain State by 9 AM.

In its wake, the storm left behind a hazy and muggy atmosphere with temperatures rising with reckless abandon. With the sun out most of the day, the air stewed, simmered and sautéed its way to 90 degrees.

By late afternoon, towering storm clouds filled the southern skies and thunderheads crossed the Coalfields thru Southeastern Kentucky and Southern WV.

C.J. Jarrell from WSIP radio in Paintsville told me, “the rain fell in buckets and swamped the streets for a time.” From WVOW radio in Logan, Aaron Chambers tells me parts of the county is without power as the evening storms hit fast and furiously. "We are off the air and probably won't be back on until morning", Aaron told me at 10:15.

Across the Tug Valley, Gary Sloan of Coal Country Radio tells me as many as 4700 homes are in the dark. "Trees are down and some county roads are covered with debris", said Gary.

By 8, the storms arrived in the Kanawha Valley with a rain delay at Appy Power Park thanks to the quick cloudburst. Lightning struck a tree and fell on a home in Dunbar. New cells formed along I-77 north and a fast moving shower interrupted a summer evening at the Jackson Junior Fairgrounds in Cottageville.

Meanwhile, fair goers at Milton and McArthur walked their favorite midway and rode their special ride with nary a drop of rain.

The cold front that helped to incite the tropical air should be safely thru by Wednesday night. But until it clears the region, buyer beware, a sudden gully washer can still occur. More importantly, the 90s have been chased into Dixie likely until August.