Thunderstorm Wind — Franklin, Virginia

2012-06-29 · near Naff, Franklin, Virginia

Event narrative

Thunderstorm winds blew numerous trees down across the county. A mobile home suffered major damage as a fallen tree split the structure in half. Several other homes across the northern part of the county suffered minor to moderate damage from fallen trees in the Boones Mill to Burnt Chimney and Smith Mountain Lake areas. A firefighter was initially injured by a falling tree while responding to a call in his vehicle. The individual later died as a result of the injuries. Damage values are estimated.

Wider weather episode

A derecho of historic proportion rolled through the region and caused widespread, significant damage. Numerous power outages occurred. Some customers were without power for 12 days which coincided with a prolonged period of excessive heat. The derecho had its origin around Chicago, Illinois around 1:00 pm EST. By 7:00 pm EST the derecho had reached southeast West Virginia. Only two hours later, it was pushing through Southside Virginia. By midnight EST it had reached the Atlantic coast.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.1300, -80.0400)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 395146. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.