CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The number of tornadoes that touched down on April 2 in West Virginia continues to grow.
The National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed two additional tornadoes in Kanawha County Tuesday, both of them in eastern Kanawha County. The twisters were identified in the Hernshaw and Ronda/Cabin Creek areas.
The NWS said an EF1 tornado stretched across five miles from the Kanawha State Forest to the community of Hernshaw with peak winds reaching 100 mph. The tornado started near the Pigeon Roost Trail of the state forest before dissipating prior to reaching I-64.
NWS storm teams said there was significant tree and structure damage caused by the Hernshaw tornado.
This map shows the tornado and wind damage locations that we’ve found so far from April 2nd — it’s a lot! While tornadoes get all of the attention, many locations identified as having straight-line wind damage have damage that is just as extreme as that found in the tornadoes. pic.twitter.com/0MpuLRNbpv
— NWS Charleston, WV (@NWSCharlestonWV) April 9, 2024
As for the tornado in the Ronda area, it was also an EF1 with winds reaching as strong as 100 mph, although it only traveled for half a mile. The twister uprooted a lot of trees in a path that went down a hillside and into the valley near Cabin Creek. A few homes also endured roof damage.
There have now been seven confirmed tornadoes from the storm including five in Kanawha County, one in Huntington near the Cabell/Wayne county line and one in the community of Lavista in Fayette County.
There were three minor injuries reported with Lavista Tornado.