The governor of West Virginia declared a state of emergency for the entire state early Saturday morning after powerful evening storms left an estimated 500,000 residents without power.
"The damage from today's storms is widespread and in many places severe," said Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin in a statement. "With temperatures near 100 degrees expected this weekend, it's critical that we get people's power back on as soon as possible. We're committing 100% of our state's resources for as long as we need to get this cleaned up."
Tomblin urged residents to stay as cool as possible and drink plenty of fluids since the state will be under a hear advisory until 8 p.m. this evening.
The West Virginia Gazette-Mail reported damage at Charleston’s Yeager Airport. Strong winds caused a single-engine Cessna to flip over on the tarmac and several large hanger doors were blown off their hinges, the report said.
Violent evening storms following a day of triple-digit temperatures wiped out power to more than 2 million people across the eastern United States and caused two fatalities in Virginia -- including a 90-year-old woman asleep in bed when a tree slammed into her home, a police spokeswoman said Saturday.
Widespread power outages were reported from Indiana to New Jersey, with the bulk of the service interruptions concentrated on Washington, D.C., and the surrounding areas. Earlier Friday, the nation's capital reached 104 degrees -- topping a record of 101 set in 1934.
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