Virginia, 2001

Damaging Wind in Virginia, August 27, 2001

August 27, 2001 · NWS LWX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A thunderstorm with winds in excess of 55 MPH developed over western King George County and pushed east to the Potomac River between 3:15 and 3:30 PM EDT on the 27th. A square mile area along the river on the grounds of the Naval Surface Warfare Center suffered damage from high winds.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$10,000
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.

A thunderstorm with winds in excess of 55 MPH developed over western King George County and pushed east to the Potomac River between 3:15 and 3:30 PM EDT on the 27th. A square mile area along the river on the grounds of the Naval Surface Warfare Center suffered damage from high winds. At least 20 to 30 trees lost branches over 1 foot in diameter. Four large trees were downed and a few others were snapped. In addition, a few homes on base lost shingles.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 27, 2:15 PM EST, 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 27, 2:15 PM EST, 10 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
315 PM EDT MON AUG 27 2001

AT 19Z...SCT SHRA/TSRA DEVELOPING ALONG AND AHEAD OF BDRY CREATED BY
DIFF HEATING FROM FREDERICK MD TO STAUNTON VA. SFC FRONT ASSOC WITH
700MB TROF HARD TO FIND IN HIGH TERRAIN BUT WINDS HAVE TURNED NW AND
DEW PTS ARE DROPPING IN FAR NW CWA. EXPECT FRONT TO PUSH SE AND EXIT
FAR SE BEFORE 06Z ENDING PRECIP FROM NW TO SE. WILL CARRY 20 POP W
OF BLUE RIDGE EARLY TO COVER LEFTOVER PRECIP NEXT FEW HRS AND GO
WITH A 30 POP E OF BLUE RIDGE...WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A 40 POP IN
FAR SE. BEST CHANCE OF -TSRA SE OF A LINE FROM DCA TO JUST E OF CHO
WHERE SUNSHINE PREVAILED TODAY AND TEMPS HAVE REACHED UPPER 80S AND
DEW PTS HAVE CLIMBED INTO THE LOW 70S.

WINDS TURN WNW BEHIND FRONT OVERNIGHT WHICH CREATES DOWNSLOPE 850MB
FLOW. THIS HELPS TO SCOUR OUT MOISTURE E OF RIDGES TUE AHEAD OF NEXT
FRONT WHICH IS FCST TO CROSS CWA BETWEEN 00Z AND 06Z TUE NIGHT.
THIS WILL CAUSE FRONT TO BE MOISTURE STARVED AS IT PASSES THROUGH.
OTHER CONS TO PRECIP...MOST DYNAMICS PASS WELL N OF CWA AND BDRY
WILL BE COMING THROUGH MOST OF CWA AFTER SUNSET. DUE TO SPILLOVER
MOISTURE AND TIMING OF FRONT WILL KEEP 30 POP OF AFT/EARLY EVE
SHRA/TSRA FROM BLUE RIDGE W WHERE CONVECTION CANNOT BE ENTIRELY
RULED OUT. HAVE DECIDED TO REMOVE POPS FROM REST OF CWA TUE.

FRONT WASHES OUT JUST SE OF AREA WED AND DRIER AIR FILTERS IN FROM
THE N AS HI PRES BUILDS IN. THE HI PUSHES OFFSHORE THU AND OUR WINDS
TURN S. AVN/CANADIAN/MRF ALL SHOW A BATCH OF MOISTURE DRAWN UP FROM
THE GULF WED AND DEVELOP A SFC LOW OVER THE MID MISS VALLEY THU.
THIS FEATURE APPROACHES CWA THU NITE INTO FRI AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT
MOVING SE FROM THE GREAT LAKES REGION. LL RH INCREASES RAPIDLY OVER
CWA THU AND THU NITE WITH GOOD WAA. BY FRI ATMOS IS UNSTABLE ENOUGH
TO SUPPORT AFT SHRA/TSRA. COLD FRONT PASSES THRU CWA SAT SO
CHANCE POPS WARRENTED AGAIN. STRONG CAA FCST BY MRF SAT NIGHT AS HI
PRES PUSHES INTO REGION. HI WILL BE OVER CWA BY MON.

REGARDING TEMPS...DID NOT STRAY FAR FROM GUIDANCE THRU FCST. COOL
DOWN FOR LABOR DAY WEEKEND ON MAV LOOKS REASONABLE BASED ON STRENGTH
AND ORIGIN OF SFC HI.

FCSTID = 36
DCA   69  88  68  85 /  30  20  20   0
BWI   65  88  65  84 /  30  20  20   0
MRB   63  88  63  84 /  20  30  30   0
IAD   64  88  64  84 /  30  20  20   0
CHO   65  88  64  84 /  40  10  10  10
HGR   60  85  60  82 /  20  30  30   0
NHK   70  87  68  83 /  40  10  10  10
W99   61  85  61  82 /  20  30  30   0

.LWX...
DC...NONE.
MD...NONE.
VA...NONE.
WV...NONE.

MMARGRAF

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 81 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:22 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, King George

When
August 27, 2:25 PM EST
Where
King George County, Dahlgren
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
38.333, -77.050

Several trees were damaged and shingles were blown off buildings.

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

More

Every storm in Virginia in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, August 2001

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: 5263779.