Thunderstorm Wind in Amherst County, Virginia

Numerous trees were blown down by thunderstorm winds in the area around New Wright Shop Road and Riverview Road. Several powerlines were brought down by fallen trees, and one home suffered significant structural damage. An estimated 3500 customers lost power in the area.

Multiple thunderstorms developed during the afternoon and evening of the May 27th across central and southwest Virginia as a strong upper level disturbance passed across the lower Mid-Atlantic along a stationary front draped across the region. The storms developed in a moderately unstable environment, with surface temperatures observed in the low to mid 80s during the afternoon, while dewpoints were observed in the upper 60s to low 70s. This helped to drive MLCAPE values into the 1,500 to 2,000 J/kg range, with relatively steep low-level lapse rates. Area wind profilers also indicated westerly winds within the low levels of the atmosphere, with 30-35 kt of deep-layer shear supporting damaging wind gusts in the stronger thunderstorm activity.