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National Weather Service Confirms Rare West Virginia Tornado

Craig Hudson / The Charleston Gazette-Mail
/
via AP
Dwight Ford hands over his daughter Jasmine, 8, to her mother, Laura Stallings, after the car they were driving in was struck by a falling pole that had itself been hit by a lightning bolt after a suspected tornado tore through Charleston, W.Va. Monday.

Updated on Tues. Jun. 25, 2019 at 4:45 p.m.

The National Weather Service says storm-related damage indicates that a rare tornado touched down in West Virginia.

The weather service tweeted that a tornado hit the Alum Creek area Monday night along U.S. Route 119 southwest of Charleston. The weather service says a survey team is looking at damage in other areas Tuesday in Kanawha County, where large trees toppled onto homes and roads.

The weather service is still determining the tornado's strength.

With its vast network of hills and mountains, West Virginia averages two tornadoes a year.

About 15,000 Appalachian Power customers remained without electricity Tuesday in West Virginia, down from nearly 21,000 Monday night. Charleston's Yeager Airport tweeted it was using backup generators. Workers at West Virginia's Capitol complex went home at midday when the power was turned off campuswide as part of repair and restoration efforts.

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