CHARLESTON — Survey teams with the National Weather Service said Tuesday the storm that moved through Kanawha County Monday evening was a tornado, in at least one area.
National Weather Service at Charleston tweeted the information just before noon Tuesday.
“Our survey team has reported damage consistent with a #tornado in the Alum Creek area, in the vicinity of US 119. They are progressing north toward Southridge/South Hills and eventually Charleston. Updated information will be provided as they report back,” the tweet said.
Steve Canterbury lives between Alum Creek and Charleston where the tornado hit. He said the damage on his property is unlike anything he’s ever seen.
“There must be 100 trees down and they’re in a path. I mean it’s the strangest thing. The big trees were either uprooted totally and are down or the tops were just twisted out,” he said. “I mean the wood looks like some giant just twisted it like they were playing with matches or something.”
Childress Road resident Clinton Curry told MetroNews he’s lived in the area all his life and he’s never seen anything like the damage his property sustained Monday night.
“Sixty acres destroyed. All the woodlands are destroyed on this and on the other side of the hill, too. I’ll probably have to put a whole new roof on my house,” Curry said.
Curry said the wind had such a rotation it turned on two water spigots.
The NWS survey team also looked at damage near Berry Hills Country Club and in Charleston’s South Hills neighborhood.
MetroNews reporter Jake Flatley contributed to this story.
