Tornadoes and Hail in Virginia, June 2, 1998

The combination of an upper level disturbance, increasing atmospheric shear, and ample instability set the stage for a severe weather episode across northwestern Virginia during the evening. Individual mini-supercell storms contained large hail, damaging winds, and a few small tornadoes. The storms originated in eastern Ohio during the late afternoon and propagated through southwestern Pennsylvania, extreme northwestern Virginia, and portions of eastern West Virginia before scooting into northern Virginia.Two weak tornadoes, emanating from the same mini-supercell, struck in Clarke and Loudoun Cos. Damage was noted near Berryville (Clarke Co) in the form of several uprooted trees and an unroofed barn. In western Loudoun Co, tree damage indicative of a tornado was surveyed along Snickersville Turnpike (local route 734). Elsewhere in northern Virginia, the main culprit was large hail, ranging in diameter from three-quarters of an inch to golf ball (1.75 inches). Damage likely occurred to some crop fields - the hail, in most cases, lasted from 5 to 15 minutes.