Dan Robinson
EF5
This special weather statement from the Charleston, WV NWS office on August 30, 1989 is making the rounds on social media:
https://twitter.com/DRmetwatch/status/963212528615673857
I OCR'd the text from the image here:
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
120 AM EDT WED AUG 30 1989
INTENSE DEADLY LIGHTNING IS CAUSING WIDESPREAD DESTRUCTION IN WEST VIRGINIA.
A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS STRETCHES FROM CENTRAL KENTUCKY THROUGH WILLIAMSON WV... CHARLESTON WV...ELKINS WV...INTO WESTERN MARYLAND. THE LINE IS HEADING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.
THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE PRODUCING DEADLY LIGHTNING TO A DEGREE SELDOM SEEN. ACROSS MUCH OF WEST VIRGINIA...ESPECIALLY DODDRIDGE COUNTY... NUMEROUS TREES ARE DOWN CLOSING MANY MAJOR ROADS. HOUSES AND TRAILERS ARE ON FIRE EVERYWHERE. POWER IS OUT IN WIDE AREAS ...ALL FROM RELENTLESS LIGHTNING ACTIVITY. FIRE COMPANIES CANNOT KEEP UP.
EACH THUNDERSTORM WITHIN THE LINE IS PRODUCING UP TO 250 LIGHTNING HITS TO THE GROUND EVERY FIFTEEN MINUTES. STAY INDOORS. GET OFF THE PHONE. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND FIREPLACES. DON/T WASH OR TAKE
...OR LONE TREES. HAVE CANDLES READY WHEN THE POWER GOES OUT.
LIGHTNING CAUSES MORE DEATHS EACH YEAR THAN TORNADOES DO. AND THIS DEATH TOLL IS FROM ORDINARY THUNDERSTORMS. DIRECT HITS OF LIGHTNING ARE AN OBVIOUS DANGER. TREES SOMETIMES EXPLODE VIOLENTLY WHEN STRUCK ...FILLING THE AIR WITH LARGE CHUNKS OF WOOD MOVING AT HIGH SPEED. HOUSES AND CHURCHES OFTEN EXPLODE INTO FLAME WHEN STRUCK. LARGE ROCKS ARE SOMETIMES THROWN OUT OF THE GROUND. FIREBALLS OFTEN EXPLODE.
AGAIN...INTENSE LIGHTNING STORMS ARE DEADLY.
END/PARKE
40602=
Does anyone have any additional information about this event? There was at least one tweet that seemed to indicate this SPS was being used as a "bad example" in training:
https://twitter.com/Wxmanms1/status/963228820831694850
Storms with CG rates like the one described aren't all that unusual in the Midwest (I see one or two of them a year, particularly with midsummer high-CAPE supercells), though the described impacts in this example (fire departments overwhelmed, etc) seem remarkable if accurate.
https://twitter.com/DRmetwatch/status/963212528615673857
I OCR'd the text from the image here:
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
120 AM EDT WED AUG 30 1989
INTENSE DEADLY LIGHTNING IS CAUSING WIDESPREAD DESTRUCTION IN WEST VIRGINIA.
A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS STRETCHES FROM CENTRAL KENTUCKY THROUGH WILLIAMSON WV... CHARLESTON WV...ELKINS WV...INTO WESTERN MARYLAND. THE LINE IS HEADING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.
THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE PRODUCING DEADLY LIGHTNING TO A DEGREE SELDOM SEEN. ACROSS MUCH OF WEST VIRGINIA...ESPECIALLY DODDRIDGE COUNTY... NUMEROUS TREES ARE DOWN CLOSING MANY MAJOR ROADS. HOUSES AND TRAILERS ARE ON FIRE EVERYWHERE. POWER IS OUT IN WIDE AREAS ...ALL FROM RELENTLESS LIGHTNING ACTIVITY. FIRE COMPANIES CANNOT KEEP UP.
EACH THUNDERSTORM WITHIN THE LINE IS PRODUCING UP TO 250 LIGHTNING HITS TO THE GROUND EVERY FIFTEEN MINUTES. STAY INDOORS. GET OFF THE PHONE. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND FIREPLACES. DON/T WASH OR TAKE
...OR LONE TREES. HAVE CANDLES READY WHEN THE POWER GOES OUT.
LIGHTNING CAUSES MORE DEATHS EACH YEAR THAN TORNADOES DO. AND THIS DEATH TOLL IS FROM ORDINARY THUNDERSTORMS. DIRECT HITS OF LIGHTNING ARE AN OBVIOUS DANGER. TREES SOMETIMES EXPLODE VIOLENTLY WHEN STRUCK ...FILLING THE AIR WITH LARGE CHUNKS OF WOOD MOVING AT HIGH SPEED. HOUSES AND CHURCHES OFTEN EXPLODE INTO FLAME WHEN STRUCK. LARGE ROCKS ARE SOMETIMES THROWN OUT OF THE GROUND. FIREBALLS OFTEN EXPLODE.
AGAIN...INTENSE LIGHTNING STORMS ARE DEADLY.
END/PARKE
40602=
Does anyone have any additional information about this event? There was at least one tweet that seemed to indicate this SPS was being used as a "bad example" in training:
https://twitter.com/Wxmanms1/status/963228820831694850
Storms with CG rates like the one described aren't all that unusual in the Midwest (I see one or two of them a year, particularly with midsummer high-CAPE supercells), though the described impacts in this example (fire departments overwhelmed, etc) seem remarkable if accurate.