CHARLESTON, W.Va. — What was left of what was once Tropical Storm Cindy exited West Virginia early Saturday leaving behind downed trees and some high water.
The storm, which combined with a cold front as it entered the Mountain State Friday, didn’t cause widespread severe flooding but heavy winds did some damage.
A tornado may have touched down in the Jarvisville area of Harrison County where there were reports of “hundreds” of trees torn apart. Wind damage was also reported in Marion, Monongalia and Preston counties.
Boats and other watercraft were turned upset down at the Cheat Lake Marina near Morgantown. The Crab Shack Caribba restaurant reported damage. The owner said he thought it was a tornado.
The National Weather Service is expected to send teams to the various areas to check out the damage.
High water was reported in low-lying areas. Some basements were flooded and there were other high water problems but there were no severe flooding reports.
Rain totals topped three inches in Wheeling and Cheat Lake in Monongalia County. There was 2.4 inches of rain in the Marion County town of Mannington. Heavy rain forced the closure of several viaducts in Huntington. High water was also reported in and around Parkersburg. Residents in the Marshall County town of Cameron also reported nuisance flooding.
Mon Power and Appalachian Power reported several thousand customers without service Saturday morning. At 11 a.m., Appalachian Power reported 10,000 customers out with the Logan, Williamson and Wheeling areas seeing the highest numbers.
The company released the following statement at 11 a.m. Saturday:
“Appalachian Power is shifting its crews from areas not impacted by the storms to areas with outages. Power should be restored to most customers by midnight tonight. Where outages are very scattered or isolated, or in cases of severe damage, restoration could extend into Sunday afternoon for some customers.”
The weather picture will be rapidly improving during the day Saturday, according to meteorologists. Skies will clear with high temperatures in the 70s and low 80s for the rest of the weekend and into early next week.
The major rivers, the Ohio and Kanawha, will likely be rising over the next few days from the Friday night rain but flooding is not expected.