Charleston, WV

Weather Forecast Office

How To Report Severe Weather

How to Report

There are a variety of ways to report weather to the NWS office in Charleston, WV. By using the methods below, your severe weather reports will reach forecasters in real time. Please be sure to include the location of the weather event, e.g. 5 miles northwest of Charleston. You may also indicate if you are a trained spotter, a ham radio operator, a member of law enforcement, or other affiliation if applicable.

Submit Report

Use this Web Based Form: Submit Report

Spotter Hotline

Trained weather spotters can report significant weather conditions by calling the toll-free spotter hotline given to them as part of their training.

Facebook

Post information on our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/NWSCharlestonWV

Twitter

Send us a tweet:

@NWSCharlestonWV

Email

Send us an email:

rlx.ops@noaa.gov

Mobile App

Send reports from your location via a smartphone app: MPing

What to Report

Reporting the following phenomena when they occur help us warn others!

Tornado

Damaging Winds

Hail

Flooding

Heavy Rain

Snow

Freezing Rain/Icing

Strong Winds

Fog

Tornado

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm cloud to the ground. The Enhanced Fujita Tornado Intensity Scale is used to categorize tornadoes

Funnel Cloud: A condensation funnel extending from the base of a towering cumulus or cumulonimbus, associated with a rotating column of air that is not in contact with the ground (and hence different from a tornado). A condensation funnel is a tornado, not a funnel cloud, if either a) it is in contact with the ground or b) a debris cloud or dust whirl is visible beneath it.

Wind Damage

What kind of damage did the wind cause?

Small limbs down (less than 2" in diameter)
Large limbs/branches down (more than 2" in diameter)
Trees snapped or uprooted
Power lines down
Structural damage and/or Roof damage

Hail

What size hail did you see?

Pea Size: 0.25 inches
Small Marble: 0.50 inches
Penny: 0.75 inches
Nickel: 0.88 inches
Any hail size at or above a Quarter (1.00 inches) is severe thunderstorm criteria:
Quarter: 1.00 inches
Half Dollar: 1.25 inches
Ping Pong Ball: 1.50 inches
Golf Ball: 1.75 inches
Pool Ball: 2.00 inches
Tennis Ball: 2.50 inches
Baseball: 2.75 inches
Grapefruit: 4.00 inches
Softball: 4.50 inches

See also: Hail Size Comparison Chart

Flooding:

What kind of flooding was observed?

Minor street flooding
Low water crossings flooded
Widespread flooding
Home/Business flooded
Creek/Stream out of banks
River out of banks

Heavy Rain

How much rain fell, e.g. 1.50".
What period of time did the rain fall? (e.g. 1 hour 15 minutes.)
Was the rainfall measurement estimated or measured with equipment?

Snow Info

Your snowfall reports are extremely helpful to us as we monitor the progression of winter storms. Intermediate reports during the storm help us know how well our forecast is performing and if there's updates needed. Your report after the snow has ended is used by us for verification purposes and to help document the storm. Here's what we need to know:

How much snow fell (to nearest tenth of an inch if possible), e.g. 3.5".
What period of time did the snow fall? (e.g. 1 hour 15 minutes.)
Was the snowfall measurement estimated or measured?
For more information on how to properly measure snow, visit https://media.cocorahs.org/docs/MeasuringSnow2.1.pdf.

Freezing Rain/Icing

How much icing was observed (to nearest tenth of an inch if possible), e.g. 0.5".
What period of time did the ice accumulate? (e.g. 2 hours 30 minutes.)
**IMPORTANT** Was the ice measurement radial (on a tree branch or wire) or flat? For more information on how to properly measure ice accretion, visit https://media.cocorahs.org/training/Training_IceAccreation.html.
Was the ice measurement estimated or measured?

Strong Winds

We are generally interested in wind speeds of 40-50 mph or higher. Here is some info on how to estimate wind speeds:

39-54 mph: Twigs break off trees; wind generally impedes progress.
55-72 mph: Damage to chimneys and TV antennas; pushes over shallow rooted trees.
73-112 mph: Peels surfaces off roofs; windows broken; light mobile homes pushed or overturned; moving cars pushed off road.

Dense Fog

We are mainly interested in visibility reports of a half mile or less.

View Reports

Most reports we receive are transmitted as Local Storm Reports and can be viewed at the following locations. Many reports are also stored in the official NOAA Storm Events database.


Local Storm Reports	Rainfall Reports (CoCoRaHS)	Snowfall Reports