WHEELING, W.Va. — Severe storms on Wednesday afternoon caused flash flooding on roadways in parts of Wheeling and Ohio County and resulted in thousands losing power.
The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh issued a flash flood warning for all of Ohio County and parts of Marshall County at 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday as slow-moving bands of rain came through the area.
Philip Stahl, the Wheeling Police and Fire Department Public Information Officer told MetroNews the Elm Grove section of Wheeling and the village of Triadelphia in Ohio County got the worst of it. As of 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday, 6,097 customers of Appalachian Power in Ohio County did not have electricity, the majority in Elm Grove.
“A very large tree came down on Kruger Street in Elm Grove that we believe caused a major power outage through several neighborhoods in Wheeling from Elm Grove to the Washington Avenue area,” Stahl said.
Several traffic lights along National Road from Washington Avenue to Kruger Street and East to Krause Drive are not functioning because of the power outages as of late Wednesday afternoon. Stahl said that is causing traffic congestion in Elm Grove.
It added to the congestion of rush hour traffic mixing with detours from the I-70 Ohio County Bridge Project. Stahl said there were reports of I-470 slowed on Wednesday afternoon due to water on road.
U.S. Route 40, National Road, from Wheeling to Triadelphia and Valley Grove was covered in mud and debris when the water receded late in the afternoon. During the height of the flooding, National Road at Lincoln Avenue closed, I-70 Exit 4 near Arby’s closed, Park View Lane water trapped vehicles, and Cadillac Avenue was all water.
Stahl said Little Wheeling Creek in Elm Grove caused the majority of flood issues.
“Just after lunchtime, we had a large thunderstorm moving through the area. Certain parts of town got rain but it was not as heavy of rain that it did in the Elm Grove neighborhoods,” he said.
ALERT: Little Wheeling Creek in Elm Grove is high and swift. Please be watchful of rising water. WFD monitoring the area. pic.twitter.com/WQSPvGLVTs
— Wheeling, WV Fire (@WheelingFD) June 30, 2021
Stahl said the focus turns to clean up and power restoration.
“We have the roads to cleanup, the roads to reopen. We have to get the trees out of the way so the power company can get to work. Then figuring out what other areas need to be cleaned up,” Stahl said.