The number of tornadoes from April 2 storms in West Virginia keeps climbing, now up to seven

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The number of tornadoes from severe storms last week in southern West Virginia kept climbing Tuesday with the National Weather Service on Tuesday boosting the count to seven — more than three times the state’s average for an entire year.

West Virginia saw an average of two tornadoes per year from 1993 to 2022. The most tornadoes recorded in the state by the weather service in one year was 15, back in 1998.

The weather service confirmed two more tornadoes from the April 2 storms in Kanawha County, bringing the number in the county that includes the capital of Charleston to five. Other tornadoes occurred along the Wayne-Cabell county line and in Fayette County. No deaths were reported and all of the tornadoes had maximum winds of 130 mph (209 kph) or less.

About 140,000 customers lost electricity, or about 14% of all customers tracked in the state by poweroutage.us