SUMMERS COUNTY, W.Va. — Wednesday was a cleanup day in parts of Summers County following strong thunderstorms a day earlier that put down heavy rain to the east of Hinton and in areas to the north along Route 20 stretching to Interstate 64.
“(It was) Really heavy rainfall,” reported Steve Lipscomb, director of the Summers County Office of Emergency Management, of the flash flooding along small streams and creeks, including Brooks Creek.
“We did not experience the hail that some of the more western counties did, but we did have an extensive amount of rainfall across the northern half of the county.”
Tuesday’s storms largely barreled through portions of central and southern West Virginia.
In Summers County, parts of Route 20 had reopened by Wednesday morning to traffic after being closed for hours on Tuesday night because of rocks, trees and other debris.
At least one home was damaged and several other homes were being checked Wednesday, Lipscomb told MetroNews.
Off of Route 20, crews with the Division of Highways were working Wednesday to clear debris from a bridge along Mini Herb Stove Road. The bridge remained structurally sound, according to the DOH.
Lipscomb said several small bridges, largely bridges used to access driveways, had been washed out in northern Summers County.
For a time Tuesday, members of a basketball team were stuck at Summers County High School because water was covering an access road. Damage assessments continued on school grounds Wednesday.
The potential for additional rain was a concern for Lipscomb and other emergency officials in West Virginia heading into Wednesday afternoon.
“We’ve had enough rain over the past couple of months actually to make the ground really soaked,” he said. “Really heavy rain like that we had (Tuesday evening) could present some problems, so could high winds just with loose trees.”
The National Weather Service had Flash Flood Watches posted for more than 30 counties in West Virginia for Wednesday into Thursday. As of Wednesday morning, Summers County was not on the list.