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LOCATION: Putnam County, WV 20 miles west of Charleston
After small storms began firing 70 miles to the east of here along the high ridges of the Appalachians, GOES 12 satellite showed a small area of clearing
beginning to come alive with bubbly cumulus clouds directly over Putnam and Cabell counties.
Stepping outside for a look showed the cumulus (Cu) field growing rapidly into towering cumulus (TCu), and I decided to head out. As the TCu developed further, a few dominant updraft bases were visible. I latched onto one just southwest of Winfield and followed it northeast.
It rapidly intensified, developing a strong rain shaft a few minutes later and finally began dropping cloud to ground lightning not long after that.
I pulled over on a ridgeline road near Red House, WV to film it as the fireworks show was just getting started:
The storm was sparking nicely as it moved off to the NE:
Too bad it wasn't nighttime, these would have made good 35mm shots. As the first cell moved off, a new cell to the south was just beginning to drop a faint rain curtain. Within minutes, it too developed a dense rain shaft with lightning as it drew closer. None of these new strikes would cooperate though. The heavy precipitation core then swept over with copious dime to nickel-size hail:
