Thunderstorm Wind — Smyth, Virginia

2024-05-26 · near Marion, Smyth, Virginia

Event narrative

Multiple trees were downed by thunderstorm winds along the Buchanan Highway at Hungry Mother State Park, some of which were partially blocking the road.

Wider weather episode

A line of thunderstorms quickly progressed across southwest and central Virginia through the afternoon as an MCS (Mesoscale Convective System) tracked from the Ohio Valley into the Mid Atlantic and Central Appalachians. Strong daytime heating ahead of the line and high dewpoints lead to high surface based CAPE (Convective Available Potential Energy), and DCAPE (Downdraft Convective Available Potential Energy) values exceeding 1000 J/kg. This led to widespread damaging winds, and resulted in numerous power outages from downed trees and power lines. This complex of storms also spawned an EF-1 tornado in the city of Salem.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.8863, -81.5324)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1181579. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.