Thunderstorm Wind, Rockingham
- When
- October 18, 4:30 PM EST
- Where
- Rockingham County, Harrisonburg
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Coordinates
- 38.450, -78.870
Damaging Wind in Virginia, October 18, 1996
Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 mph blew down a newly constructed wall and associated scaffolding at a local high school. The wall was part of a renovation.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS LWX wrote it up.
Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 mph blew down a newly constructed wall and associated scaffolding at a local high school. The wall was part of a renovation. A channeling effect of winds between the school and the new wall may have contributed to the collapse.
The radar
The Sterling radar (KLWX), 133 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:28 UTC.
Event by event
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Wildfire in California, October 18 to November 10, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Ohio, October 18, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Mississippi, October 18, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, October 18, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, October 18, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, October 18, 1996
- Hail in Alabama, October 18, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Oregon, October 18 to 19, 1996
- Heavy Rain in Virginia, October 18, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, October 18, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, October 18, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, October 18, 1996
More
Every storm in Virginia in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, October 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5572410.