Story by MetroNews Meteorologist Bryan Hughes and reporter Jeff Jenkins
UPDATE Wednesday 7:30 a.m.
An active recovery effort is taking place in Upshur County this morning and waters continue to rise from heavy rain that occurred Tuesday.
I-79 northbound at Jane Lew Wednesday morning. (Photo/Jason Adams)
Water rescues, which began Tuesday evening, are continuing this morning. Swift water rescue teams from many areas have traveled to Upshur County to assist.
The high water continues to impact U.S. Route 33 between the I-79 exit at Weston to Buckhannon. The highway has been blocked by high water.
Highwater has also reduced northbound traffic to one at the Jane Lew exit. Northbound traffic is getting off and back on at the exit. Both lanes were closed overnight.
Southbound traffic on Interstate 79 is being rerouted onto U.S. Route 50 at Bridgeport west to Parkersburg and onto Interstate 77.
Power outages and communication issues are another challenge. Mon Power reported more than 22,000 customers without service in Central West Virginia as of Wednesday morning.
Residents in Upshur County who need emergency help are asked to call 304-613-2619 after the county’s 911 service went down.
BUCKHANNON, W.Va. — The catastrophic flooding in central West Virginia has officially reached unprecedented levels Tuesday night. The Sand Run stream near Buckhannon has shattered its all-time record, surpassing the devastating watermark of 8.3 feet set during the infamous 1985 floods.
Water along Meadow Street in Buckhannon. (Photo: Joe Kinzer)
According to official National Weather Service hydrograph data, the Sand Run stream gauge observed an astronomical crest of 10.63 feet on Tuesday evening. This reading pushes well past the stream’s defined “Major” flood stage of 10 feet.
“I’ve never seen anything like this, and I’ve lived here for 37 years,” Buckhannon Mayor Robbie Skinner told MetroNews Tuesday night. Noting the severity of the ongoing disaster as local tributaries continue surging, the mayor added: “The river is still rising, we’re not done yet.”
The National Weather Service in Charleston has extended the Flash Flood Warning for northern Upshur and northern Lewis counties until 1:00 a.m. EDT. Radar and rain gauges indicate that between 3 and 5 inches of rain have fallen since Tuesday afternoon, inundating communities like Weston, Stonewall Jackson, Jane Lew, and Hodgesville. Major interstate travel is severely compromised, with life-threatening flooding reported on Interstate 79 between mile markers 90 and 106, as well as multiple stretches of U.S. Route 33.
An observer for the National Weather Service reported 7 inches of rain for the day at 7:54 p.m. 2.6 miles south of Buckhannon. The same observer reported 4 inches of that total came in 75 minutes.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey put all 55 counties under a state of emergency by 11 p.m. Tuesday.
“Many West Virginians are helping communities deal with flooding, property damage, and dangerous conditions tonight,” Morrisey said in a news release. “State and local emergency officials are working to assist those affected, and this declaration ensures we can quickly deploy resources wherever help is needed. I urge every West Virginian to exercise an abundance of caution, stay off flooded roadways, monitor local forecasts, and follow the direction of emergency officials.”
Skinner said the flooding was caused by a flash flood that hit around 2 p.m. followed by heavier rain that began a little after five and continued for about three hours.
“We had a significant flash flood event but also the river (Buckhannon River) was coming up because of the rainfall upstream, up toward Helvetia and Pickens , and of course it all has to come down. But the river came up because of this flash flood event,” Skinner said.
There was no flooding reported along Buckhannon’s popular Main Street or the West Virginia Wesleyan campus which both sit a little higher up than other parts of the city.
The Weston Walmart parking lot is underwater. (Photo: Buckhannon Events Facebook)
“So Wesleyan is fine. the proper part of our downtown is fine but it’s kind of everything in between, if it’s low-lying it’s flooded,” Skinner said.
Buckhannon resident Joe Kinzer lives a block-and-a-half from the Upshur County Courthouse. He said the community storm drains could not hold the water on Meadow Street. He said the second storm is what put things over the top.
“The sky started getting very, very dark, lightning started occurring. I heard thunder. It was just really, really dark and the sky just opened up from about 5:20 until about 8:30,” he told MetroNews.
Weston was also hit by high water. The shopping district along Route 33 took on water including the Walmart.
Emergency Responders Overwhelmed
On the ground, the situation has devolved into a desperate fight for survival in the dark. Emergency radio traffic from Upshur County Fire and EMS paints a harrowing picture of a first response network pushed beyond its limits, with radio traffic at one point stating, “I don’t know what to tell them at this point…”
Ongoing scanner traffic and field reports detail widespread destruction and life-and-death rescues across the region:
Old Elkins Road: Active water rescues are ongoing as victims are being pulled directly from the floodwaters, prompting urgent requests for additional ambulances to the scene.
Stonecoal Lake area: A number of rescues occurred.
Commercial Areas Submerged: Deep water has flooded completely through the local Walmart. Meanwhile, a vehicle at the Huddle House is submerged up to its windows, with responders unsure if anyone is trapped inside. Another responder noted: “The water by the Huddle House… it’s worse.”
Attic Rescues: Crews report having to cut people out of their attics, stating over the radio, “We were banging on the roof to see if we could hear them.”
Mass Trappings: At least one residence reported having 20 victims trapped inside as the waters rose. Other reports indicated subjects were trapped inside vehicles, entirely unable to escape the water.
Infrastructure Collapse: Floodwaters are tearing apart the local geography. “The bridge is gone, it’s washed out,” one responder relayed. Another reported that a floating structure crashed into a bridge and was “just destroyed,” leaving crews unsure if anyone was inside the building. In some neighborhoods, the current is so violent that responders noted, “Houses have floated into each other.”
A Somber Historic Milestone
The breached flood stage marks a grim milestone for the region. The previous Sand Run record of 8.3 feet was established during the November 1985 Election Day floods. That disaster resulted in 47 fatalities statewide and caused catastrophic, multi-million-dollar damage to homes, businesses, and infrastructure across 29 counties.
With local waterways continuing to surge out of their banks tonight and residents trapped in vehicles and homes, officials are urgently pleading with the public to stay off all roadways and seek the highest ground possible.
