Extreme Weather Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

State Ranks Near Bottom In Electricity Reliability, Federal Data Show

West Virginia has the most frequent power interruptions except for three states. And it has the longest power interruptions of any state but one.

West Virginia has some of the worst electricity reliability in the country, according to federal data.

West Virginia has the most frequent power interruptions except for three states. And it has the longest power interruptions of any state but one.

That’s according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Annual Electric Power Industry Report.

West Virginians experienced an average of nearly three interruptions a year in 2022, and an average duration of more than 15 hours. The U.S. average was 1.4 outages and 5.6 hours.

Most of those interruptions were not during major weather events, such as December 2022’s Winter Storm Elliott, when temperatures plunged into the single digits and below zero.

Only Florida, with two major hurricanes in 2022, had outages with a longer average duration. Alaska, Tennessee and Maine had more annual power interruptions.

After The Rain Comes The Heat In Flooded Kentucky Towns

The rain that unleashed massive floods in Appalachian mountain communities was diminishing on Tuesday, leaving survivors to face a new threat: baking in the heat as they try to recover.

“It’s going to get really, really hot. And that is now our new weather challenge,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said at his morning briefing on the disaster.

The death toll stood at 37 on Tuesday after more bodies were found Monday in the ruined landscape, and while more than 1,300 people have been rescued, crews are still trying to reach some people who remain cut off by floods or mudslides. Hundreds were unaccounted for, a number that should drop as cellphone service is restored and people can tell each other they’re alive, the governor said.

“It is absolutely devastating out there,” Beshear said. “It’s going to take years to rebuild. People left with absolutely nothing. Homes that we don’t know where they are, just entirely gone. And we continue to find bodies of our brothers and sisters that we have lost.”

The National Weather Service warned that slow-moving showers and thunderstorms could provoke more flash flooding through Tuesday morning along waterways swollen by Sunday’s heavy rain, a dismal coda to last week’s historic floods. That includes communities just across the state line in Virginia and West Virginia, where some people also remain without power.

Cooling stations are being set up in buildings that were spared the floods as more than 9,600 customers remain without electricity in eastern Kentucky, Beshear said.

“They have been set up in time, in fact before this heat. We may, for the first time, be ahead of the weather,” he said.

“I know you may be out there working to salvage whatever you can. But be really careful Wednesday and Thursday when it gets hot,” the governor said. “We’re bringing in water by the truckloads. We’re going to make sure we have enough for you. But you’re going to need a cool place at least to take a break.”

For hundreds of people whose homes were damaged or destroyed, that place was an emergency shelter. As of Tuesday, nearly 430 people were staying at 11 such shelters, and 191 more were being housed temporarily in state parks, Beshear said.

Meanwhile, the flooding has forced some eastern Kentucky districts to delay the start of school. Several schools in the region were damaged, officials said, and the focus now is on helping families whose homes were damaged or destroyed.

“Just that in and of itself is going to take time before we can even start the conversation with the community about where kids are going to go to school,” said John Jett, superintendent in Perry County, where classes were supposed to start Aug. 11 but have been delayed.

Two of the Perry County district’s nine schools suffered severe damage and one will likely have to be rebuilt because of a partial collapse, he said.

In Knott County, Superintendent Brent Hoover said classes would be delayed until the district can assess damage at the high school, an elementary school and the technology center. In Letcher County, Superintendent Denise Yonts said six of the district’s 10 schools were damaged by flooding and two staff members died. The district is committed to getting students back into classrooms as soon as possible to restore some sense of normalcy, she said.

“Our community as a whole is devastated,” Yonts said.

President Joe Biden declared a federal disaster to direct relief money to counties flooded after 8 to 10 1/2 inches (20 to 27 centimeters) of rain fell in just 48 hours in parts of eastern Kentucky, southern West Virginia and western Virginia.

The disaster was the latest in a string of catastrophic deluges that have pounded parts of the U.S. this summer, including St. Louis. Scientists warn that climate change is making such events more common.

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Reynolds reported from Louisville. Other Associated Press contributors include Leah Willingham in Charleston, West Virginia.

Governor Declares State Of Preparedness As Heavy Rains Hit W.Va.

The governor’s office declared a State of Preparedness for all 55 counties as heavy rain is expected to hit large parts of West Virginia through Saturday. This could elevate risks for flooding and power outages throughout the state.

The city of Huntington declared a State of Emergency, citing large scale flooding. The National Weather Service has also issued flash flood warnings in the areas surrounding Huntington and Charleston.

The West Virginia Emergency Management Division recommends staying indoors as much as possible. Quick preparation tactics include keeping 72 hours worth of bottled water and non-perishable food items around the house.

Public Information Officer Lora Lipscomb says one of the most important things to do in a weather emergency is to make sure phones are charged and backup power sources are nearby. This ensures the ability to stay connected to contacts and to receive emergency alerts.

“They could be asking that you evacuate your home or not go into the area that they’re specifying,” Lipscomb said. “We ask you to please listen to those officials and follow those directions.”

If driving under a flood warning is necessary, Lipscomb recommends the “6-12 rule.”

“Six inches of water will knock an adult off their feet and sweep you away. Twelve inches of water could wash your vehicle away depending on the height of the vehicle,” Lipscomb said. “When you come to floodwater, you’re not going to know how deep it is. So back away from it and find another way home. You’ll be late, but we want you to get home.”

Lipscomb recommends checking the social media pages of your local emergency management agency or your local weather service for up-to-date info. Resources on what to do in an emergency can also be found online at ready.gov.

Meteorology Professor: Region Should Prepare For More Weather Swings

From the recent ice and snow storms, to the flooding rains followed by sunny 70 degree days, the state has seen some wild weather swings recently.

Kevin Law is a Marshall University professor and West Virginia state climatologist. He also created the meteorology program at Marshall, teaching students to be weather forecasters and broadcasters.

Eric Douglas spoke with Law to find out why we’re seeing such extreme changes in weather.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Douglas: I’m sure the biggest question you get right now is what’s going on with the weather?

Law: A lot of it we have to trace back to the jet stream. The jet stream is that swift-moving current of air in their upper levels that divides cold air to the north from warm air to the south. Back in the middle of February, there was a big dip in the jet stream. That extended right into the central part of the United States. It was a big trough of cold air that extended down to Texas. That’s why Texas experienced some extremely cold temperatures. In fact, I believe Dallas had a low temperature of -2 degrees one morning, which was the second coldest temperature they’ve actually ever experienced. You have to go back to 1899 to see a colder temperature than that.

So there was a really deep, cold trough in the central part of the U.S. Here in West Virginia, we were just slightly to the east of that trough. So our temperatures weren’t quite as cold as what you saw there in Texas. There was just enough warm air in the middle levels that was going over top of some cold air at the surface. And that is the recipe for ice and freezing rain and sleet.

Douglas: I’ve read recently that there are some people who are suggesting that the jet stream itself is weakening and wild swings and weather are likely to continue in the end to get worse in coming years.

Law: I’ve seen research that if the jet stream slows down, or weakens, there’s more wobbling or more north-south amplitude changes in the jet stream. So you have deeper colder troughs, but also warmer, higher ridges. So that would explain the variability that we see. It might be cold one week, but then you give it a few days and we have jumped to the warm side of it.

Douglas: Do you see that as something we need to prepare for?

Law: I’ve definitely seen more variability for sure. When you look at cold waves from 40-50 years ago, when it got cold, it tended to stay cold for an extended period. One of the best examples is the winters back in 1977 and 1978. It stayed cold most of the month of January. We’ve had cold weather recently, and even a few years back, back in 2014 or 2015 when we had temperatures that were almost as cold as what we saw back in the ‘70s.

The difference is the duration. Yes, we have these cold spells, but then it gets warm, then it gets cold again, and then it gets warm. I think back to January 2014. We had some extremely cold temperatures, but we also had some warm temperatures that same month. Back in the late ‘70s. You didn’t see that variability.

Douglas: West Virginia is relatively fortunate in that we’re in a temperate climate to begin with so we’re not subject to the wild swings of temperature. We’re probably seeing wetter weather here and hotter, but definitely wetter. What’s the future hold?

Law: When you look at the two major variables, temperature and precipitation, the one that stands out the most here in West Virginia is an increase in precipitation. If you were to break it down by season, we seem to have a little bit more precipitation, even in the fall, when usually the fall is the driest time of the year.

But when we have increases in precipitation in the fall, that can really play out throughout the rest of the year. I think back to a couple of years ago; September 2019 was extremely dry. We had drought-like conditions throughout a lot of the state. But then all of a sudden in October, things just flipped and went the other way and we had extremely wet conditions. How can we have a record precipitation and at the same time have a drought that same year?

Douglas: Can you give me a quick definition of La Niña versus El Niño.

Law: We have to look at the ocean temperatures right off the coast of Peru in South America. Whenever those water temperatures are warmer than normal, we call that an El Niño. Whenever they’re colder than normal, that’s a La Niña. Right now the temperatures are colder than normal along the coast of Peru. So that’s a La Niña and those colder or warmer than normal water temperatures will then impact jet stream, which is what we’ve been talking about here today.

Douglas: Is this what we refer to as as climate change?

Law: Well, some of this is tied to that. You mentioned El Niño and La Nina. We’re actually in La Niña now and La Niña is generally responsible for increased precipitation, especially in the Ohio Valley. When you combine colder temperatures with increased precipitation, that translates to snow and various forms of winter precipitation, and that’s why the middle of February was like that.

Douglas: One of the big stories that came out of the big storm from a couple of weeks ago was how ill-prepared Texas was for the extremely cold temperatures. How does West Virginia prepare?

Law: I definitely think we need to look at our infrastructure. If you think back to 2012, we had the Derecho that showed how vulnerable we are when it comes to big storms and how the grid and the power lines are very susceptible to violent storms. So we need to take that into consideration. We need to get those power lines in better condition to withstand stronger storms.

Douglas: It may be anecdotally, but I feel like we’re seeing more tornadoes, earlier. We’re seeing more hurricanes earlier in the season and later in the season. I assume that’s all tied together as well.

Law: We are in La Niña year and that was very similar to what we saw in 2011 when we also had a pretty cold winter, especially in the central part of the United States. So if we were to look at this coming spring, we might actually see more tornadoes in the central part of the United States, largely because we are coming out of wintertime cold temperatures.

As the temperature starts to rebound in the spring, as we get to have 70, maybe even 80 degree days at the ground, the upper-level temperatures are going to still be cold. Whenever you have warm surface temperatures, and cold upper-level temperatures, that sets up tornadoes, so we might anticipate a least increase in tornado activity this spring.

Losing It All: Natural Disasters and America’s Immigrant Worker

We’re in the midst of the 2019 hurricane season, and people in the Bahamas are still digging out from Hurricane Dorian. In 2018 hurricane Florence hit the coast of North Carolina, which left 51 people dead and caused $24 billion in damage in the state.

Disaster relief programs provide assistance to many, but in the U.S. some people are not eligible for any of that help. Undocumented migrant workers who harvest crops and perform other temporary jobs can lose everything when disaster hits.