Lightning, Frederick
- When
- July 30, 5:05 PM EST to 5:15 PM EST
- Where
- Frederick County, Gainesboro
- Property damage
- $8,000
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 39.205, -78.263 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Tornado and Lightning Strike in Virginia, July 30, 1998
An isolated rotating thunderstorm developed along a stationary front over western Frederick Co and moved east, producing some wind damage and a small tornado near and east of Gainesboro. At a residence on Hunting Ridge Road just east of Gainesboro, a brief tornado snapped or uprooted 50 to 60 trees, including pines and oaks.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
- $18,000
- 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.
An isolated rotating thunderstorm developed along a stationary front over western Frederick Co and moved east, producing some wind damage and a small tornado near and east of Gainesboro. At a residence on Hunting Ridge Road just east of Gainesboro, a brief tornado snapped or uprooted 50 to 60 trees, including pines and oaks. One of the trees smashed a portion of a fence. Moments earlier, in Gainesboro, lightning started two grass fires and struck a home, causing minor damage. Strong winds blew down several power lines as well.
The radar
The Sterling radar (KLWX), 72 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:12 UTC.
Event by event
1 lightning, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Tornado, Frederick
- When
- July 30, 5:15 PM EST
- Where
- Frederick County, Gainesboro to 3 mi NE of Gainesboro
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.5 mi
- Path width
- 75 yd
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 39.280, -78.220
What these are
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heat in Oklahoma, July 30, 1998
- Tornado and Hail in West Virginia, July 30, 1998
- Damaging Winds in Idaho, July 30, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Hail in New Mexico, July 30, 1998
- Flash Flooding in Kentucky, July 30, 1998
- Damaging Winds in Tennessee, July 30, 1998
- Flood in Florida, July 30, 1998
- Tornado and Flood in Maryland, July 30, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Tennessee, July 30, 1998
- Flash Flooding in Missouri, July 30, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, July 30, 1998
- Lightning Strike in Kentucky, July 30, 1998
More
Every storm in Virginia in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Virginia, 1998Warnings in Virginia, July 1998
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: 5662972, 5663039.