Virginia, 2001

Damaging Wind in Virginia, July 5, 2001

July 5, 2001 · NWS LWX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A thunderstorm with high winds moved across Stafford County between 4:30 and 5:00 PM EDT on the 5th. Trees were downed across Garrisonville and Rock Hill Church Roads.

Where it happened

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  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$1,000
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 high winds moved across Stafford County between 4:30 and 5:00 PM EDT on the 5th. Trees were downed across Garrisonville and Rock Hill Church Roads.

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 Jul 5, 1:35 PM EST, 2 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 5, 1:35 PM EST, 2 hours 10 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
235 PM EDT THU JUL 5 2001

PATTERN ACRS THE COUNTRY WILL BE DOMINATED BY AN UPR LVL TROF OVR
THE ERN U.S. AND UPR LVL RDG OVR THE ROCKIES AND PLAIN STATES. BY
SAT...THE UPR LVL TROF WILL BEGIN TO LIFT OUT AS THE CUTOFF LOW OVR
QUEBEC BEGINS TO MOVE NE. THIS WILL RESULT IN RISING HGTS OVR THE
AREA BY SAT. HOWEVER...BY SUN...ANOTHER PIECE OF ENERGY DROPS INTO
THE LONGWAVE TROF POSITION ALG THE E COAST...REINFORCING THE TROF.

SFC CDFNT WILL MOVE THRU THE AREA THIS EVE. DON'T EXPECT WIDESPREAD
CONVECTION ALG OR AHD OF THE CDFNT. SOUNDINGS SHOW A WEAK CAP OVR
THE AREA. WINDS WILL NOT BE BACKING MUCH AHD OF THE CDFNT SO
CONVERGENCE IS WEAK.  IN ADDITION...ALL THE DEEP MOISTURE HAS BEEN
SWEPT E OF THE AREA WITH THE SFC TROF LEAVING ONLY SOME RESIDUAL
SHALLOW MOISTURE OVR THE AREA. ALSO...WESTERLY FLOW AHD OF THE CDFNT
WILL RESULT IN DOWNSLOPING WHICH WILL TEND TO SUPPRESS CONVECTION.
HOWEVER...MODIFIED SOUNDING SHOWS A CAPE OF 1300 THIS EVE WITH LIS
AROUND MINUS 4. IN ADDITION...THE 12Z ETA AND NGM BOTH SHOW SOME QPF
OVR THE AREA. WILL LEAVE 30 POPS IN THE FCST UNTIL MIDNIGHT THEN P/C.

SFC HIGH PRES BUILDS INTO THE AREA FRI AND FRI NIGHT WITH A COOL AND
DRY AIR MASS. GOING WITH SUNNY SKIES FRI AND CLR FRI NIGHT.

SFC HIGH MOVES OFF THE CST SAT AND RETURN S FLOW DEVELOPS BRINGING
SOME MOISTURE BACK INTO THE AREA. IN ADDITION...AS HGTS START TO
RISE OVR THE AREA...WHATS LEFT OF THE FNT TO OUR S WILL MOVE BACK N
AS A WEAK WMFNT. ETA DEVELOPS SOME UVVS OVR THE AREA LATE SAT IN
ASSOCIATION WITH THE RETURN FLOW/WMFNT. THE AVN KEEPS THE UVVS NW OF
THE AREA. THINK THE ETA MAY BE OVERDOING THE UVVS AND MOISTURE SO
RIGHT NOW WILL ONLY HAVE HIDDEN 20 POPS IN FOR SAT AND HOLD OFF ON
MENTIONING ANY SHRAS/TSRAS UNTIL SAT NIGHT.

NGM AND AVN MOS NUMBERS ARE CLOSE THE 1ST 3 PDS. HOWEVER...THE MOS
HAS BEEN RUNNING TOO WARM LATELY WHEN WE GET A COOL DRY AIR MASS
INTO THE AREA. WILL UNDERCUT MOS TEMPS A COUPLE DEGREES ON FRI.  NGM
MOS IS WARMER THAN THE AVN MOS FOR SAT. WENT WITH A COMPROMISE
BETWEEN THE TWO SETS OF NUMBERS SAT.

FOR THE EXTENDED...
THE AVN HAS A CDFNT MOVING THRU THE AREA ON SUN AS THE NEXT
SHORTWAVE DROPS INTO THE TROF POSITION. WILL HAVE CHC POPS SUN FOR
SHRA/TSRA. HIGH PRES BUILDS INTO THE AREA MON/TUE WITH DRIER AIR
MASS.

FCSTID = 15 / DMW

DCA   63  81  63  87 /  30   0   0  20
BWI   58  80  56  87 /  30   0   0  20
MRB   54  80  52  87 /  30   0   0  20
IAD   54  80  52  87 /  30   0   0  20
CHO   58  81  59  87 /  30   0   0  20
HGR   52  79  51  86 /  30   0   0  20
NHK   6U4  81  63  87 /  30   0   0  20
W99   48  78  47  85 /  30   0   0  20

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

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 61 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:45 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Stafford

When
July 5, 3:45 PM EST
Where
Stafford County, West Portion
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
38.433, -77.567

Trees were downed across Garrisonville and Rock Hill Church Roads.

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, July 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: 5259159.