A look back: Two tornadoes strike southern West Virginia 10 years ago

RALEIGH COUNTY, WV (WVNS) – Although rare in comparison to our neighboring counties, tornadoes can occur anywhere in West Virginia at just about any time given the right atmospheric setup.

This was the case on the night of October 7th, 2014.

Two tornadoes spawned after dark, causing damage in parts of Raleigh and Mercer counties.

According to a storm survey conducted by the National Weather Service in Charleston, the first tornado struck the Odd area of southern Raleigh County at 10:41 at night. An EF-2 tornado, with maximum wind gusts of 125 mph covered three miles, causing extensive damage to trees and to some buildings in and near the community along Odd Road.

A second tornado then struck a short time later, around 11:39 PM a little farther south in northern Mercer County, according to a storm survey conducted by the National Weather Service in Blacksburg.

This tornado struck just a couple of miles northeast of Mataoka near the small community of Pinoak, crossed Beeson Road and followed near Rich Creek Road, where a mother and son were injured in a mobile home. The path of destruction covered 5 and a half miles in total length. This was the second documented tornado ever in Mercer County, the first being in 1965.

These storms caused extensive damage in parts of our region ten years ago and is a reminder that West Virginia does occasionally see intense severe weather, both during the daytime and at night.

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