CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Winds during Friday’s severe thunderstorm that hit the Albemarle County and Charlottesville area reached top speeds of 90 mph, according to a National Weather Service Sterling post storm preliminary survey released Sunday.
“A powerful thunderstorm began to develop over southeastern Rockingham County out of a cluster of otherwise innocuous showers,” according to the report. “The storm would rapidly intensify into a powerful supercell thunderstorm before reaching the Blue Ridge. As the storm crossed into northwestern Albemarle county, particularly around Free Union, the storm would go through a period of weakening as it approached Charlottesville. Just prior to arrival, the supercell thunderstorm went through another cycle of strengthening, making the storm much more intense than it had been earlier. The storm reached it`s peak intensity as it moved across the north side of Charlottesville.”
That’s where the damaging winds and large hail fell in the downdraft in the front of the storm between 5:33 and 5:42 p.m.
“Ground photos and video, paired with drone photos of the aftermath showed a vast majority of this damage occurring in the southeast direction,” the report said. “This is consistent with a damaging straight line wind event, which occurred over roughly a three square mile area.”
”The damage lacked any true linear continuity overall, but was more so in several north-to-south swaths,” said the report.
In addition, the NWS reported hail stones 2-to-2.5 inches in diameter.
The service will have investigators in the area early in the week to first-hand survey the damage.
”The National Weather Service would like to thank Albemarle County Department of Emergency Management, City of Charlottesville Emergency Management, the University of Virginia, as well as local reports via social media and local broadcast meteorologists for the invaluable information provided to this survey,” the report said.
In Albemarle County, residents are being asked to report non-emergency damage from the storm to the county’s Office of Emergency Management. Serious situations including collapsing buildings, downed trees or utility lines across roadways and the smell of natural gas or burning are considered emergencies and should be immediately reported by calling 911.
“Submitting this information helps us understand the full impacts of the storm across the county and allows us to relay reports to the National Weather Service,” according to the reporting website.
The list of issues residents are encouraged to report includes:
- Large trees or limbs that are snapped, uprooted or significantly damaged
- Roof, siding, window, garage or other structural damage
- Vehicles damaged by hail, wind-blown debris or falling trees
- Hail approximately 1 inch or larger, including an estimate of the size when possible
- Flooding that enters a structure or covers a roadway, if it can be safely observed
- Power poles or utility lines that are down but are not creating an immediate emergency or blocking a roadway
- Significant damage to sheds, barns, fences, carports or other outbuildings
