PENDLETON COUNTY, W.Va. — The National Weather Service has officially confirmed that an EF-1 tornado touched down in Pendleton County on Tuesday evening, packing peak winds of 100 mph and leaving a nearly 10.5-mile path of destruction in its wake.
Despite the widespread damage, emergency officials reported no injuries or fatalities.
The tornado touched down at 7:25 p.m. on Tuesday, July 21, starting along Kiser Gap Road, about a half-mile north of the U.S. Route 33 intersection. Tracking east-northeast, the twister quickly intensified as it crossed the 1600 block of Troublesome Valley Road.
It was there that the storm produced a close call, snapping a large tree that crashed down onto a passing vehicle. According to the NWS damage survey, the driver was successfully extracted from the crushed vehicle entirely uninjured.
As the storm continued its trek, substantial tree damage was reported across multiple rural communities. The NWS noted concentrated damage along the 1000 to 2300 blocks of Corner Road, the 6500 to 7000 blocks of Sweedlin Valley Road, and the 300 block of Redbud Hill Lane. At its maximum intensity, the tornado expanded to 150 yards wide, uprooting and snapping most of the trees in its direct path.
After tearing through those residential blocks, the funnel moved through a heavily wooded, unpopulated area and crossed the state line into Virginia. It reached Gochenour Lane just southwest of Criders before finally lifting near Gobble Mountain at 7:45 p.m.
In total, surveyors estimate that thousands of trees were downed across the 10.49-mile track. While the primary impact was severe tree damage, the NWS also noted minor structural damage to outbuildings and residential siding, primarily caused by falling timber.
The National Weather Service concluded its report by thanking the Pendleton County Office of Emergency Management for their “invaluable assistance” in safely navigating and surveying the storm’s aftermath.