BIG STORM HITS WV. AND VA. (DAMAGE PIC ADDED)

[GOLD HUNTER]

The storm has knocked out power to 566,000 Appalachian Power customers in Virginia and West Virginia.

In Virginia, 233,500 people are without power. In West Virginia, there are 332,487 people without power.

West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has declared a state of emergency.

Much of Southwest Virginia was left in the dark Friday night after an evening storm with gusts topping 80mph swept through the area, downing trees and sparking fires.

Between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m., dark clouds blotted the sky after a sunny, record hot day. Within minutes lights inside homes began to flicker, and many lost power altogether.


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Fire destroys home on Carroll Avenue in Roanoke. The AP is reporting that nearly 2 million people in the mid-Atlantic region are without power. Additionally, 850,000 Dominion Power customers in Virginia are without power. Most of those in the dark are in the Northern Virginia area.

What damage did you get and we are ok here in Big lick Va. and we hope you all are ok

[redarrow]

Prayers my Brother.

[GOLD HUNTER]

Dominion Virginia Power says now 900,000 customers are without power across Virginia.

Gov. Bob McDonnell declared a state of emergency this morning in the aftermath of severe storms that caused six deaths and left an estimated 2.5 million Virginians without power as they endure a brutal heat wave.

"This is a very dangerous situation for Virginia," McDonnell said this morning in a news conference at the state's emergency operations center in Richmond.

[hookedspur]

It Was a BAD ONE . My sister and her family live in Wirt Co. and they got pounded ! But thank God they are all fine .

[BandedSpur]

Prayers sent. 

[Tail Feathers]

Sounds like a bad one for sure.  Hoping for a fast recovery for you.  Prayers for those so badly affected.

[NoMoDanSnyder]

No power in Loudoun County where I live.  Not as much damage as I thought,  but surrounding areas are hit pretty bad.   Hopefully our power will be back by tomorrow night.  Had to visit a family member in Front Royal with power because it's smoking hot out.

[eddie234]

WHEELING - A severe thunderstorm with winds reaching 70 mph slammed the Ohio Valley on Friday evening, downing utility poles and trees, closing roads and ripping the roof off a church in Belmont County.

The storm came with a tornado warning from the National Weather Service, which advised residents to take shelter. At the height of the storm, 243,000 people across the state of Ohio were without power, along with hundreds in the Ohio County area.

Locally, the Barnesville-Somerton area was hit first with multiple downed trees and debris. The wind was strong enough to rip the roof off a church and toss it into the street in Somerton.

Article Photos


Photo by Casey Junkins
A powerful summer storm that swept through the Upper Ohio Valley on Friday evening caused power outages and downed trees across the area. Wind caused these modular buildings at Lowe's in Center Wheeling to collapse onto a nearby sidewalk.

Additional roof damage was reported at Centre Foundry in Warwood, where a section of the roof was torn off.

Here in Marshall Co. Wv power is mostly back on. No major injury or deaths reported.

[Deputy 14]

Yea. Boone county WV looed like Baghdad last night. Been kinda rough here with 110 degree temps.

[pappy]

Just got off the phone with vaturkey....him and Teresa are hold up in a camper, he said they're eating chicken sandwiches and drinking cold water. From his remarks, there is so much damage around them, but they were blessed that only limbs were down in their yard, but they have lost power.

[sippy cup]

its been awful here people fighting over gas and ice. Ive seen over last 2 days the worst come out of some and the best in some the bad thing is another one is coming tonight

[turkey slayer]

Prayers sent 

[GOLD HUNTER]

I took off work all this week and if any one needs water, ice, food, gas, just let me know, i have a big box truck and will get what ever you my need.

im here in Roanoke and you just send me a pm and i'll get what i can to you.

Brian

[slamman]

STAY WELL OUT THERE

[lonnie sneed jr.]

Myself, wife, and my dad was in Pocahontas WV working on my cabin for the weekend when it hit. About a 30 + inch oak missed my cabin by about 6 ft. and the same tree missed my truck about 6 inches. Another big oak fell in front of the cabin missing about 20 ft. A huge oak missed my new outhouse by inches. We left the cabin and made it down the road to some hay fields and sat for about 3 hr. Like to never made it back to the cabin that night but we did and it was ok and we hit the hay. Next morning checked everything out and everything was ok. Alot of tree damage but none to the buildings. Got it under roof one week and almost lost it the next. We were lucky no damage that I could see and no one got hurt or killed. I cut a few big limbs out of the road and we came back to Princeton WV to check on our homes and my mom. Everything was ok here also. The part of the state I traveled through coming home took a pounding. Pocahontas, Greenbrier, Summers, and Mercer all was in rough shape. Pocahontas was the worst, that I seen. Very lucky and blessed for what we went through. Alot of people in the state was not so lucky.  I am 53 and my Dad is 75, neither one of us have ever been in a storm like we went through.