Thunderstorm Wind — Wythe, Virginia

2024-05-26 · near Max Meadows, Wythe, Virginia

Event narrative

An estimated one hundred trees were blown down by thunderstorm winds in the Max Meadows area. One of the downed trees caused severe damage to a single-wide trailer and a vehicle. Members of the public also reported that hundreds of tree limbs and several large tree limbs were downed by thunderstorm winds in Carters Park off Lee Highway.

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 → (36.9700, -80.9300)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1182476. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.