Powerful winds rolled through West Virginia Saturday, ripping the roof off South Charleston City Hall and leaving tens of thousands without power. Residents from the Mid-Ohio Valley to the Kanawha Valley are still feeling the impact.

A very powerful gust of wind found it's way under the rubber membrane on the roof of the annex area of the South Charleston City Hall where the mayor's office and Municipal Court are located.

Winds were strong enough to tear it apart and push around a heating unit city officials estimated weighed close to a ton. Firefighters filled a small fleet of garbage trucks with the debris.

"Of course, that rubber membrane, you know it's a large area,” South Charleston city manager Rick Atkinson said. “It got up underneath of it making it like a sail and it went flying.”

Debris kept falling off the rooftop for about an hour. Crews had to close down D Street to keep people from being hurt by flying pieces of the roof.

Trouble picked up about 11 a.m. Saturday morning when the temperature hit 70 degrees along the Ohio River. The surf was up and moments later power problems that would spread to impact thousands began.

An issue with a pole carrying a transformer in Ravenswood dropped a line and started a fire at an adjacent house.

“We found that that one strand of the three phase that broke loose off the pole and shorted to the ground and caused the breaker box to short in this residence,” Ravenswood Fire Department Chief Kevin McClain told Eyewitness News.

Only minor damage was reported. The winds rolled east packing enough punch to leave many without electricity and powerful enough to take off a roof.