WOAY-TV (Oak Hill, WV): UPDATE: We continue to track the tornado count from April 2 per information from the National Weather Service in Charleston.
MONDAY, APRIL 22:
1 PM: Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill gets reaction from the community on the EF-2 Hico tornado and reveals the final statistics of the April 2 tornado outbreak. Click here for the story.
SATURDAY, APRIL 20:
9 AM: We just got word from the National Weather Service in Charleston, W.Va., that ground surveys from the April 2 outbreak have been completed. The final tornado count in West Virginia is 10 and within the Charleston County Warning Area, 17 tornadoes are confirmed. This count busts through TWO records: the previous calendar year record for the Charleston County Warning area was 11 tornadoes in 1980. The previous calendar day record for the state of West Virginia was seven tornadoes on April 4, 1974 and June 2, 1998.
THURSDAY, APRIL 11:
7 AM: Additional storm surveys this week confirm a total of 15 tornadoes touched down in the Charleston County Warning Area and 9 for the state of West Virginia on April 2, 2024. The previous calendar year record for the Charleston County Warning Area was 11 tornadoes in 1980 and the previous calendar day record for the state of West Virginia was 7 tornadoes on both April 4, 1974, and June 2, 1998. Six of those tornadoes on April 4, 1974, touched down in the Charleston County Warning Area.
Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill provides this information in a severe weather update for the upcoming weather system for our radio partner, Lake Country 95.7, 3WS:
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10:
5:30 PM: The Ansted Fire Department tipped off WOAY-TV on storm damage on Lucas Road in Victor. We also have an update on the total number of confirmed tornadoes in the Charleston County Warning area. Click here for more.
5 PM: Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill produced a newspaper article for The Monroe Watchman in Union, W.Va., on the recent tornado outbreak:
TUESDAY, APRIL 9:
7 PM: Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill returned back to the tornado scene in the community of La Vista in Hico to report on the outcome of this historical tornado outbreak:
MONDAY, APRIL 8:
5 PM: Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill talks about the record tornado outbreak with our radio partner, WTNJ.
FRIDAY, APRIL 5:
10 AM: Download the StormWatch 4 Weather App from the App Store or Google Play. Besides getting the latest weather alerts and hourly and daily forecasts, you can swipe to the News tab from the app’s homepage and see the latest information during severe weather from our StormWatch 4 weather team. For more information on the latest round of snow moving through, click here. The information on the snow can also be found at the top of the news page on the mobile app.
9 AM: Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill provides an update for our radio partner, Lake Country 95.7 FM in Summersville on the weather service assessment for the Hico storm on Tuesday. Chad goes into more depth about the structure of the storm. Chad also provides a general forecast update through Monday, the day of the Total Solar Eclipse.
THURSDAY, APRIL 4:
11:30 PM: Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill reveals more details on the Hico tornado per information released by the National Weather Service in Charleston:
6:30 PM: Team coverage of the April 2 severe weather outbreak aftermath:
5:45 PM: The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-2 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita Scale with maximum winds of 130 mph touched down near Hico on Tuesday afternoon. Latest coverage:
3:00 PM: Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill provides information on the NWS confirmation of a tornado in Hico on Tuesday with our radio partner, WTNJ:
8 AM: Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill provides a weather update on the impending snow and details on the weather service’s storm survey team assessment process when they investigate the damage near Hico from Tuesday’s possible tornado later today:
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3:
10:30 PM: Several schools in Fayette County NOT on spring break this week are either delayed or closed due to power outages that continue across the region. For a full list, click here.
6:30 PM: Power has been restored to our studio and Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill provided a full weather update during a special newsbreak during Family Feud programming:
3:30 PM: Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill talks with WTNJ DJ Warren Ellison about damage from yesterday’s storm and a look ahead to the upcoming wintry weather for our region in this latest radio interview:
9 AM: Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill provides a weather briefing for our radio partner, Lake Country 95.7 FM, 3WS:
8:30 AM: Showers and thunderstorms will produce flooding in spots through midday. A second round of rain is likely this evening that will transition to snow overnight. Few icy patches likely Thursday morning.
7:30 AM: The National Weather Service will send a storm survey team to all the regions where Tornado Warnings were issued on Tuesday to make their final determination on whether a tornado or straight-line winds triggered the damage in those spots. We will have all that information as soon as we find out.
7 AM: Below is a list of peak gusts from the airports across West Virginia during Tuesday’s severe weather outbreak. Overnight, most spots picked up 0.50″ of rain. Don’t be fooled by the sunshine this morning. One final round of downpours will follow the front east of our region between 8-11 a.m. Another 0.25″ of rain expected with standing water likely in spots. Skies will clear between 2-4 p.m., then rain and snow showers will push back into the region around 8 p.m. Bursts of heavy snow squalls expected between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday. Snow amounts will range from 0.25″ in the lowest elevations along Rt. 19 to 3″ in the ridges of eastern Fayette, Raleigh, eastern Nicholas, Webster and western Greenbrier. Along the Mountain Scenic Highway to western Pocahontas 7″ of snow is expected.
FLOOD WATCH ENDS AT 11 AM TODAY.
A WINTER STORM WATCH BEGINS THIS EVENING AND ENDS FRIDAY EVENING FOR THE WESTERN GREENBRIER VALLEY, WEBSTER AND POCAHONTAS COUNTY.
TUESDAY, APRIL 2:
11 PM: Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill provides a detailed overview of today’s wind event and possible tornado, talks about the next threats emerging and 7-day forecast:
8:30 PM: Local areas are still recovering from severe weather that lasted throughout the day Tuesday.
Much of our viewing area is under a flood watch. Counties to the west of us are under a tornado watch.
Here are pictures just outside of Bandys Sunoco on US 60, where a potential tornado was on the ground.
Two people suffered minor injuries. Two houses were lost, and many more were damaged.
Again, Newswatch is working to get back on the air, and we will continue to update you as best as we can on the web.
We will have a full, comprehensive story about these storms at a later time next week.
4:48 PM: The StormWatch 4 weather app indicates a Tornado Warning is in effect for northeast Fayette and northwest Greenbrier County. Seek shelter in an interior room away from windows now! A confirmed tornado has been observed near Babcock State Park. This storm is moving at about 50 mph! A Severe Thunderstorm Warning is in effect north of the tornado warned storm for eastern Nicholas County. The storm will likely produce winds of 55-60 mph.
4:30 PM: ***NOTE: WE ARE STILL OFF THE AIR DUE TO A MAJOR POWER HIT IN OAK HILL. We are providing updates as frequently as we can. Power is out and cell phone signals are sparce.
4 PM: Crews continue to repair power lines brought down by winds in Oak Hill near the exit ramp onto Route 19. Traffic is backed up going south on Route 19:
2:30 PM: Update on the second round of storms heading our way:
11:00 AM: Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill and Brianna Mowery were live with continuous coverage when the storms moved through:
10:15 AM: The Storm Prediction Center will likely issue a Tornado Watch for parts of our region ahead of a major storm complex. This was mentioned during the Facebook Live:
10:15 AM: Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill provides an update on Facebook Live:
10 AM: Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill provides an update for our radio partner, Lake Country 3WS:
MONDAY, APRIL 1:
11:50 PM: Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill’s latest forecast:
10 PM: The pockets of 1-2 inches of rain from this evening’s storms combined with the likely threat for more downpours Tuesday evening into early Wednesday prompted the weather service to expand the Flood Watches down the Route 19 corridor into Fayette, Raleigh and Wyoming County:
9 PM: Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill provides an impromptu update on a severe warned storm and the short-term forecast through the remainder of the evening:
7 PM: Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill has the latest information on the storm threat and answers viewers questions about the impending weather:
5:30 PM UPDATE: Expect a few showers and thunderstorms this evening. Briefly gusty winds and heavy rain are likely. The strongest wind gusts will likely reach 30 mph but rain could trigger localized flash flooding. Round #2 happens between 7 p.m. and Midnight on Tuesday with scattered wind gusts 40-50 mph within thunderstorms, best chance west of the Greenbrier Valley. Round #3 of gusty showers between 3-8 a.m. with the strongest gusts likely reaching 30-35 mph.
Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill has the latest forecast:
4:45 PM: Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill provides a preview to the forecast during a Facebook Live on the Newswatch page:
4:30 PM UPDATE: Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill provides a forecast update for our radio partner, 105.9 FM, WTNJ:
NOON UPDATE: A couple of soakers and storms are likely this evening between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m. Tuesday. The main threat besides lightning and thunder is heavy rain. There is a better risk for gusty storms on Tuesday. See Facebook post below.
Brianna Mowery’s latest forecast:
SUNDAY, MARCH 31:
6 PM UPDATE:
1 PM UPDATE:
TODAY: Today’s showers and storms are focused along a warm front. The rain and thunder will end by 5 p.m. Ponding of water in poor drainage spots is likely, but widespread flooding is not expected. Remember when thunder roars to go indoors!
MONDAY: The weather will be dry until afternoon and then a separate round of showers and thunderstorms will move across the region. This rain will contain downpours and likely trigger spotting flooding. It’s possible one storm could contain strong wind gusts, but the overall severe threat is limited.
TUESDAY: The morning will be dry with southwest wind gusts increasing to 30-35 mph. Between 3 p.m. and Midnight is the best we can right now to narrow down the threat for gusty showers and thunderstorms producing gusts to 40-45 mph. The afternoon and evening offer the best threat for severe weather of the week. Tuesday will be the warmest day of the week with highs in the low to mid 70s.
WEDNESDAY: Temperatures will drop through midday and then rise a few degrees with highs in the middle 40s. Several rain showers are expected in the afternoon, with snow above 3,000 feet. Highest wind gusts will be 30 mph.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY: Heavy snow squalls expected across the entire region. Snow amounts of 0.25-0.50″ expected along Route 19 with 3-5″ east of Route 19 in the higher elevations of eastern Raleigh, Fayette and western Greenbrier County. Snowshoe will likely pick up 6″ of snow. The snow will fall heavy enough for main roads to briefly become slippery. Wind gusts of 25-30 mph expected.
