Published: June 03, 2009 09:22 pm      

Spring storms sweep through region

PRINCETON — A line of thunderstorms passing through the area — some violent at times — raced through Four Seasons Country Wednesday afternoon, bringing reports of some downed trees and isolated power outages in parts of the region. Most of the area received rain, but some areas received more than others.

“We were seeing what appeared to be severe thunderstorms in the region, but none of them hit right here in McDowell County ... at least, none that I’ve heard of,” Cpl. C.K. Morton of the Welch Detachment of the West Virginia State Police said Wednesday evening. “None of the guys on the day shift said anything, so I guess we’re OK for right now.”

Mid-afternoon scanner traffic in Mercer County suggested that emergency crews were dispatched to Montcalm and Matoaka areas after heavy rainfalls and strong winds swept through that area. However, by the early evening, there were no power outage reports posted the Appalachian Power Company web site for Mercer or McDowell counties or Tazewell and Bland counties in Virginia.

“The activity should diminish through the evening before a new front moves in,” Brian Sutherland, a meteorologist/technician with the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, Va., said. “You should expect more showers (today), but the chance of precipitation should diminish on Friday. It will get cooler as well on Friday.”

Sutherland said that the National Weather Service is calling for a 90 percent chance of rain today, with showers possibly heavy at times.

– Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com