Thunderstorm Wind, Fairfax
- When
- June 18, 5:05 PM EST to 5:16 PM EST
- Where
- Fairfax County, Great Falls
- Property damage
- $30,000
- Coordinates
- 39.000, -77.270
Hail and Damaging Wind in Virginia, June 18, 1997
A heavy-precipitation supercell, tracking east from the Shenandoah Valley, produced wind gusts estimated at 60 mph and hail the size of nickels in Great Falls. Numerous large limbs were knocked down, some onto wires.
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
- $30,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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.
A heavy-precipitation supercell, tracking east from the Shenandoah Valley, produced wind gusts estimated at 60 mph and hail the size of nickels in Great Falls. Numerous large limbs were knocked down, some onto wires. A few small trees were uprooted. Virginia Power reported at least 7000 customers were without power at the peak of the storm. The microburst continued across the Potomac River into southern Montgomery Co Maryland.
The radar
The Sterling radar (KLWX), 19 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:05 UTC.
Event by event
1 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Fairfax
- When
- June 18, 5:05 PM EST to 5:16 PM EST
- Where
- Fairfax County, Great Falls
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Coordinates
- 39.000, -77.270
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.
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Damaging Winds in Maryland, June 18, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Mississippi, June 18, 1997
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Virginia, June 18, 1997
- Tornado and Hail in Wyoming, June 18, 1997
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in New York, June 18, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Lightning Strike in Ohio, June 18, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, June 18, 1997
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, June 18, 1997
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, June 18 to 24, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Nebraska, June 18, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Maryland, June 18, 1997
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in West Virginia, June 18, 1997
More
Every storm in Virginia in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, June 1997
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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5604763, 5604764.