Life-threatening flooding in West Virginia leads to numerous high-water rescues, rockslides

Winter weather continues to slam West Virginia as the storm brings life-threatening flash flooding to the state

The director of the West Virginia Department of Transportation Brent Walker joins FOX Weather to discuss the latest winter weather conditions to affect the state.

HUNTINGTON, W. Va. – A life-threatening situation unfolded across portions of West Virginia on Thursday morning as powerful thunderstorms moved across the region, leading to numerous reports of flooding, high-water rescues and rockslides due to torrential rain.

The National Weather Service office in Charleston, West Virginia, issued a dire Flash Flood Emergency for the Huntington area due to the rapidly developing situation.

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Several inches of rain fell in a short period of time in many locations. Forecasters said at least 3.3 inches of rain fell in Huntington overnight into Thursday morning.

According to Cabell County 911, residents of Enslow Park, a community within Huntington, had been urged to shelter in place or, if possible, seek higher ground or move to the highest levels of their homes.

Watch: Flooding reported in Huntington, West Virginia

A video shared from Huntington, West Virginia, shows flooding on Enslow Boulevard during a Flash Flood Emergency on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025.

"Enslow Park is experiencing high water, please evacuate if possible," officials said. "If you are unable to, contact 911 immediately."

Huntington resident jolted awake by emergency alert system

Watch: Life-threatening flooding reported in Huntington, West Virginia

A video shared by Christina Hankins shows flooding that occurred in Huntington, West Virginia, early Thursday morning, after severe weather and torrential rain pounded the region.

Huntington resident Christine Hankins spoke with FOX Weather via phone on Thursday morning and said heavy rain began to move into the area late Wednesday night, and no one was expecting the situation to become as dangerous as it was on Thursday morning.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE REVAMPS FLOOD ALERTS

"I actually got home last night, it was about 10:45, and it was starting to rain pretty substantial," she said. "It just continued through the overnight hours with several different storms coming through our area."

And with the rain pelting down throughout the overnight hours, Hankins said she woke up because an emergency alert was blaring.

Watch: Rivers overflow after torrential rain led to flooding in Huntington, West Virginia

A video shared by Christina Hankins shows flooding that occurred in Huntington, West Virginia, early Thursday morning, after severe weather and torrential rain pounded the region.

"When I got up this morning at 6, I was actually woken up by my emergency system going off, alerting us to the Flood Warning for our area."

It’s not uncommon, Hankins said, but this seemed different.

"We’ve had that happen in our area before, but this was definitely more substantial," she said. "And so I got up this morning and I knew it was going to be difficult for me to travel for work just from the location where I was at."

Hankins said she, her family and her friend are all safe, but her mother and sister, as well as some coworkers, did experience flooding at their homes.

"Most of us have experienced this before to some degree, so, thankfully, we have the correct things in place to be able to prepare when water does start coming in," she said.

Hankins said that water had, thankfully, started to recede, but trying to get around town was still tough.

Watch: Flooding reported in Huntington, West Virginia

A video shared by Christina Hankins shows flooding that occurred in Huntington, West Virginia, early Thursday morning, after severe weather and torrential rain pounded the region.

Several school districts announced they would be closed on Thursday because of the dangerous situation. Many roads in the area were impassable due to high water or debris in the roadway, such as trees and rocks.

Roads that were affected include Interstate 77 and Interstate 64, as well as countless local roads and highways such as WV-10, WV-34, WV-61 and US-119.

While flooding was a major concern, severe weather, including tornadoes, was also an issue on Thursday.

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Watch: Lightning flashes above Charleston as West Virginia gets slammed by severe weather, flooding

This video shows lightning flashing above Charleston, West Virginia, on Thursday morning, as severe thunderstorms barreled across the region. Storms have also produced torrential rain that led to numerous reports of flooding, high water rescues and rock slides.

Videos from the Charleston area showed dark storm clouds that rolled across the region and produced vivid flashes of lightning that lit up the sky.

To the west in Kentucky, sirens wailed during a Tornado Warning in Hart County near the community of Bonnieville earlier in the morning on Thursday.

National Weather Service storm survey teams from Louisville, Kentucky, confirmed at least EF-1 damage in northeastern Hart County.

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Watch: Sirens wail during Tornado Warning in Kentucky

A video shared from Bonnieville, Kentucky, shows sirens sounding during a Tornado Warning on Thursday morning.

A large portion of Kentucky had been included in a Tornado Watch, but as the storms moved off to the east, the watch was allowed to expire at 11 a.m. ET

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Several Tornado Warnings were issued Thursday morning in portions of Kentucky, as well as western West Virginia.