Lightning — Martinsville (c), Virginia

2024-05-23 · near Martinsville, Martinsville (c), Virginia

Event narrative

Lightning struck a tree on Highland Street, and the tree was knocked down.

Wider weather episode

Weak forcing over the area was overcome by strong surface heating and modest surface moisture. Instability over Virginia was modest as well, but was enough for a few isolated afternoon thunderstorms, which ultimately produced areas of wind damage. In addition, a lightning strike damaged a power transformer, which led to power outages in the area of Martinsville.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.6734, -79.8679)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1181170. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.