WESTOVER, W.Va. — The seventh tornado to touch down in Monongalia County since 1950 was confirmed after weather experts surveyed a region west of Morgantown.
According to Fred McMullen, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, the Thursday twister that damaged property was just measurable on the Enhanced Fugita Scale.
“We went out to Sierra Farm Road and we saw numerous trees down and we saw damage to a house. When we look at this, we look at the overall area of damage,” McMullen explained.
The early evening weather event met the criteria to be classified as an E0 tornado.
“Is it concentrated in one area? Is it all along a line? Do we see trees oriented in a certain direction? Are there projectiles flying around that shouldn’t be flying around, stuck places they shouldn’t be stuck? We take all of that inconsideration before we make a final determination of a tornado,” added the meteorologist.
Windows had been blown out of a home and the storm ripped shingles off the roof.
Wind speed of the tornado, measuring 360 yards wide, reached as high as 80 miles per hour.
Only one confirmed tornado since 1950 in Monongalia County has measured higher on the Enhanced Fugita Scale.
“This is the sixth EF0, so this is a weak tornado. So, when Monongalia County gets tornados, they are weak tornados which is good,” McMullen assessed.
Peaks and valleys and West Virginia’s terrain have an impact on the frequency of tornadoes here.
“Typically tornadoes like to find the easiest path. They don’t like to work.” McMullen explained. “By having all the hills in different direction and no straight path this makes the tornado work. It causes them to have a short lifecycle and a short time on the ground.”
A tornado warning was released by the NWS about before 4:45 p.m. June 16. By 4:49 an area between Sierra Farm Road and Gallus Road had been struck.
While predicting a number of tornadoes for the region is impossible, meteorologists monitor global ocean temperatures along with winter weather severity, whether El Nino or La Nina, to cross reference with historical records. That helps weather experts determine if
a region is more prone to tornadoes during particular seasonal weather patterns.
“Our office has issued the fewest number of severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings in the last 15 years heading into this passed Thursday,” McMullen recalled. “And even after we issued all the warnings on Thursday, we are still at the lowest number of severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings issued in the last 15 years.”
An EF0 tornado typically carries winds from 65 to 85 mph.
The highest class of tornadoes, EF5, measures wind speeds greater than 200 mph.
The last tornado observed in Monongalia County was in July 2008. The EF1, with wind speeds of 86 to 110 mph, touched down in the southern part of the county.
Meteorologists explain when residents receive a tornado warning they should go to the lowest level of the structure they are in or go to an inside room with no windows. They also advise to not to open windows and doors which can cause even more damage to a structure.