Thunderstorm Wind — Waynesboro (c), Virginia

1999-07-28 · near Waynesboro, Waynesboro (c), Virginia

Event narrative

48 year old woman killed by falling tree

Wider weather episode

Afternoon highs in the 90s and very moist and unstable air combined to produce scattered thunderstorms across the northern portion of Virginia. Several of these storms produced winds in excess of 55 MPH, heavy downpours between 5:00 PM and 6:30 PM EDT. Winds were estimated between 60 and 70 MPH in the community of Opal in Southern Fauquier County around 5:45 PM EDT and a wind gust of 60 MPH was reported at Sperryville in Rappahannock County at 5:20 PM EDT. These severe winds downed trees and power lines in several locations of Rappahannock and Fauquier Counties, and in isolated locations in Prince William and Stafford Counties. An observer in Opal reported 1.22 inches of rainfall in only 30 minutes as the storms passed through. In the city of Waynesboro, a 42 year old woman was killed as winds from a passing thunderstorm toppled a 25 foot tall locust tree onto her as she was trying to free a pet from an outdoor kennel around 6:00 PM EDT.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.0700, -78.8800)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5710515. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.