Mt. Storm Lake, West Virginia

A Dive Site for All Seasons

By Linda Lee Walden Photo by Lynn Laymon

I had just ascended from an hour-long dive. In no hurry to exit the warm water, I floated comfortably on the pancake-flat surface, surveying the forested shoreline. It was a unique and welcome experience, diving with no exposure protection other than a swimsuit. Despite a noticeable nip in the spring air, I felt warm and energized. Finally, with a few lazy kicks toward shore, I stood on a rock shelf in waist-deep water and removed my fins. My vehicle was just a short walk up the path to the parking area.

This scenario could easily describe a shore-diving venue on some tropical isle, or perhaps at one of the North American hot springs open to divers. But in this case, it is neither. You might find it hard to believe that this comfortable, easy diving is an everyday occurrence at Mt. Storm Lake in the Allegheny Mountains of northeastern West Virginia, where divers enjoy water temperatures approaching those you’d expect in your bathtub.

If your first reaction is, "No way, never heard of such a place," then you’re among the vast majority of American divers. Although it’s heavily used by scuba center classes and recreational divers from southeastern Ohio, Maryland, northern Virginia, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, Mt. Storm Lake is little-known outside that geographic community.

Even its name belies the lake’s distinguishing feature — water temperatures that reach as high as the mid-90s Fahrenheit (mid-30s Celsius) in summer and dip only occasionally below 60 F (16 C) when winter air plunges well below freezing. Although it’s at an altitude of 3,244 feet (983 m), this is obviously not your typical mountain lake.

Mt. Storm Lake was created in 1962 by Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCO) as a cooling pond for the 1,600-megawatt Mt. Storm Power Station, which provides electricity to more than 2 million customers. It is about 145 miles (232 km) west of the Washington D.C. beltway and 64 miles (102 km) from Winchester, Virginia, via U.S. Route 50 and West Virginia 42. The 1,200-acre (480-hectare) lake serves as a recreation site for boaters, swimmers and scuba divers.

The three massive generating units
of the power station burn more than 15,000 tons of coal per day, but state-of-the-art scrubbers keep the air quality well within legal limits. To cool the
system, lake water is pumped through the plant at a rate of 234,000 gallons per minute — fast enough to completely
recycle the lake water in 2.5 days. When the water emerges into the lake from the three return pipes, its temperature is 100 F (38 C).

Dominating the northeastern shore of Mt. Storm Lake, the superstructure of the massive power plant creates a somewhat ominous-looking backdrop for the recreational access area. A gravel parking lot, boat-launching ramp and diver entry are just a few hundred feet east from the dam along West Virginia Route 93.

Divers are unconcerned by the power plant as they stream to Mt. Storm Lake on weekends by the hundreds. For many the trip is like journeying to a mineral spa to "take the cure" from its healing waters. In a way it is a sort of pilgrimage. Instead of traveling to the Atlantic Ocean or a flooded quarry to complete open-water training dives, refresh scuba skills or try out new equipment, divers do all that while getting a taste of steaming warm water.

In addition to its water temperature, Mt. Storm Lake has other features that make it well-suited for training scuba divers. Dive centers have placed platforms at various depths near the entry area. About 150 feet (45 m) offshore, an 8-foot-by-8-foot (2.4-m-by-2.4-m) wooden platform is suspended at a depth of 25 feet (7.3 m). Another hundred feet out a similar platform hangs at 50 feet (15 m), and a line leads down to a third platform standing on legs just off the bottom at 90 feet (27 m).

Features within swimming distance of the entry point include pine trees left from before the construction of the dam as well as a shed and fence. According to Dave Dalton, a regular at Mt. Storm, "If you cross the bottom toward the other side of the lake you hit a slope at about 90-100 feet (27-30 m) that follows the contour of the original stream and remains consistent down to 120 feet (36 m)." The deepest point in the lake is 132 feet (40 m); it can be located by following the streambed toward the dam. Headings for each of the underwater platforms and features are available on the Internet by simply doing a search for "Mt. Storm."

The more than 30-degree annual change in water temperature limits the species of plant and animal life that inhabit the lake, however, catfish, bluegill and mussels are plentiful. The fish have learned that divers often bring them a tasty snack and are generally not at all shy. During night dives they’re spotted sleeping on the bottom.

Scuba divers share the ample parking lot with boaters, and divers are warned to stay clear of the launching ramp. Diver parking begins 50 feet (15 m) west of the boat ramp. Divers gear up in the parking lot and walk a short distance down the bank through the trees to the rocky shoreline. Although the entry point is quite small, the bottom composition just offshore is rock instead of silt, facilitating safe entries and minimizing loss of visibility, which averages 15 feet (5 m). Divers must use a dive flag and remain within 100 feet (30 m) of it while at depth.

The only amenities provided by the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, which administers the recreational access, are two porta-potties located in the parking lot. On busy weekends, dive centers haul trailers of equipment and scuba cylinders for their groups, but individual divers must bring full tanks, as air fills are not available nearby. After diving it is not unusual for groups to fire up a barbecue and share a meal while waiting for dusk to signal a night dive.

Part of the charm of diving Mt. Storm Lake is its remoteness. The nearest community is tiny Mt. Storm. Divers pass through this wide place in the road seven miles before reaching the lake. The once-thriving agricultural village now consists of a fire department, regional library, church, roadside park and the Mountaineer motel, which offers basic sleeping quarters to divers at a 10 percent discount. Between the village of Mt. Storm and the lake you pass a gas station, with a convenience store and the only public telephone in the area, at the intersection of routes 42 and 93. A couple of miles east of the lake is Evelyn’s Stained Glass Restaurant, literally the only choice for meals, and not bad ones at that.

Divers traveling to Mt. Storm Lake from the lowlands should allow time to acclimate to the altitude — arriving the night before you plan to dive is a good idea. Altitude tables or a dive computer that compensates automatically are required. Ascent rates should be extra slow and safety stops performed routinely.

Weather in these mountains is changeable and sometimes severe — hence the name "Mt. Storm." From late spring through early fall, air temperatures are typically comfortable and the water reaches its peak of 95 F (35 C). As lake temperature exceeds that of the air, fog forms, giving the whole scene an otherworldly quality. From December through April, few recreational divers visit the lake, however, diving doesn’t cease.

Winter at Mt. Storm belongs to tech divers. Hardy members of northern Virginia’s technical diving community think little of winding up the mountain roads in single-digit temperatures to get in a couple of practice dives. There is, however, no ice diving here — the temperate 60-degree-F (16-degree-C) water allows bottom times of an hour or more with minimal danger of hypothermia for those properly equipped with adequate thermal protection (dry suits).

Due to the mountain terrain, cell phone service in the area can be spotty. Emergency service — "911" — has not been implemented, so the Grant County Sheriff should be called in case of an accident. Mt. Storm’s fire department does have oxygen and rescue equipment. The nearest hospital is 22 miles (35 km) away in Keyser, West Virginia, and the nearest recompression chamber is in Baltimore. As phone numbers and emergency procedures may change, divers should contact an area dive center for updates before traveling to Mt. Storm Lake.

Mt. Storm Lake is about 145 miles (232 km) west of the Washington D.C. beltway. It is 64 miles (102 km) west of Winchester, Virginia, via U.S. Route 50. At West Virginia 42, turn south, drive four miles to West Virginia 93. From there, turn west and drive about 2.5 miles (4 km) until you see the signs for Mt. Storm Lake.