Scattered thunderstorms developed during the early afternoon across Northern Virginia. Some of the storms produced damaging winds, very heavy downpours, and frequent lightning.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS LWX wrote it up.
Scattered thunderstorms developed during the early afternoon across Northern Virginia. Some of the storms produced damaging winds, very heavy downpours, and frequent lightning. In Greene County, a handful fo lightning fires were reported. A shed was struck and caught fire on Celt Road in Greene. Along Roue 633 in Greene a tree caught on fire after being struck. In addition, lightning struck Brokenback Mountain and caused a 1 acre brush fire. In Albemarle County, lightning started at least 7 brush fire. In Orange County, lightning started an attic fire at a 4-unit apartment building on Oakbrook Drive in Orange. In Spotsylvania County, a home in Paytes was heavily damaged by a lightning fire. A residence on Buchanan Court was damaged by fire after lightning hit a tree and jumped to the gutter of the home. Other lightning strikes caused power outages and damaged a chimney. Heavy downpours flooded roads in Fredericksburg, including River Road which was closed by debris that was deposited on the pavement by rushing water. Pea sized hail was also reported. High winds downed scattered trees and power lines across Spotsylvania County, including a few that fell onto roads in Fredericksburg. In Alexandria, a lightning fire damaged the roof of an apartment building on Duke Street.
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 Apr 18, 8:45 AM EST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON 945 AM EDT THU APR 18 2002 WILL ISSUE AN UPDATE FOR SHWRS ALREADY OCCURNG IN LOWER SOUTHERN MD AND ALSO TO RAISE HI TMPS SLIGHTLY. AM A BIT CONCERNED ABOUT THE 12Z IAD SOUNDING. THE LOWER LVL TMP CURVE SEEMS TO STABLE AND SUSPECT. THERE WAS LITTLE MSG DATA HOWEVER...SO IF IT IS IN ERROR IT IS DUE TO A FAULTY THERMISTOR. MOST GUIDANCE SUPPRTS THE 85 TO 90 DEG HIGH... BUT CURRNT TMPS SUPPRT AT LEAST AROUND 90... IF NOT A BIT WARMER IN SOME SPOTS. WILL MONITOR TMPS AND SHWRS DURING THE LATE MORNING. STRONG ----- SHORT TERM: SUMMER PTTN TO CONTINUE. SCT DEBRIS CLDS ATTM SPILLING OVR UPR LVL RDG. SOME WK VORT ENERGY TDA...COMBINED W/ GOOD INSTAB DUE TO DIURNAL HTG. W/ H8 TEMPS NEAR 16C...DONT SEE TEMPS TOO MUCH LWR THAN YDA. AS HAS BEEN THE CASE FOR A WHILE NOW...HV FLLWD ETA SFC TEMPS FOR FCST MAX/T AS THEY HV VERIFIED MUCH BTTR THEN EVEN THE WRMST MOS GDNC. W/ SBCAPE 1500-2000J/KG...LI -4...LOW LVL LAPSE RATES 8-10C/KM ALL THAT WL BE NEEDED IS A TRIGGER TO OVERCOME H8-5 RDGG AND FIRE OFF LATE DAY TSRA. WUD APPR THAN THE VORT AND OROGRAPHICS SHUD BE ENUF TO DO IT...ESP CONSIDERING PAST CPL DAYS. CVRG IN QSTN...BUT FEEL CHC POPS WL SERVE SITU WELL. A WEAK WND FIELD WL MEAN LTL SHEAR...BUT W/ PWAT AT 1.5 INCHES...STORMS THAT DO FIRE WL BE EFFICIENT RAINERS. S/WV FM GRTLKS TNGT WL FLATTEN RDG...ALLWG DIURNAL CNVCTN TO CONT TIL ABT MIDNGT. OTRW...ANTHR BALMY NGT...W/ DEBRIS CLDS AND LWR 60S DEWPTS. MIN/T IN 60S...HI END IN THE CITIES. REPEAT PERFORMANCE TMRW...ALTHO H9-8 WRMR...REDUCING DEGREE OF INSTAB. BUT...APPCH OF CDFNT AND PASSAGE OF LEE TROF WL PROVIDE BTTR FOCUS...SO END RSLT WL BE ABT THE SAME. WARMTH ALFT IN A WELL MIXED ATMOS SHUD MEAN MAX/T ABT THE SAME...AND ETA CONCURS. HTS LONG TERM: A SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORM COULD POSSIBLY LINGER INTO FRIDAY EVENING... BUT ETA AND AVN OTHERWISE SUGGEST A DRY NIGHT. COLD FRONT PASSING THROUGH THE AREA ON SATURDAY SHOULD TRIGGER ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. HAVE RAISED TEMPS ON SATURDAY... AS CONVERGENCE AHEAD OF COLD FRONT SHOULD PUSH TEMPS INTO UPPER 70S AND 80S. TEMPS ON ETA EXTENSION SHOWING THIS QUITE WELL. COLD FRONT TO STALL TO THE SOUTH OF US OVER THE WEEKEND. WEAK HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING INTO THE AREA BEHIND IT SHOULD PUSH OUR WINDS TO THE EAST ON SUNDAY... RESULTING IN MARINE AIR MASS BUILDING INTO THE REGION WITH COOL TEMPS AND SOME LIGHT RAIN OR DRIZZLE. WAVES MOVING UP ALONG THE FRONT WILL KEEP A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN OUR FORECAST THROUGH MONDAY. NEW CANADIAN MODEL INDICATING FINAL WAVE NOT MAKING IT THROUGH THE AREA UNTIL MID DAY TUESDAY... BUT THIS APPEARS TO BE AN OUTLIER AMONG THE EXTENDED MODELS AT TIME. HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING INTO THE AREA TUESDAY THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY. LOW PRESSURE MOVING THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES LATE WEDNESDAY EXPECTED TO DRAG A COLD FRONT THROUGH THE AREA. CANADIAN A BIT SLOWER THAN WITH THIS SYSTEM THAN AVN/MRF... SO WILL HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE ON TIMING. NO CHANGES PLANNED TO WEDNESDAY FORECAST AT TIME. MARGRAF .LWX... DC...NONE. MD...NONE. VA...NONE. WV...NONE.
VAZ026-027-029-036>039-WVZ048-054-055-181830- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON 130 PM EDT THU APR 18 2002 ...HEAVY RAIN OVER PARTS OF THE BLUE RIDGE... VERY SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS OVER WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA WILL BE PRODUCING ONE TO THREE INCHES OF RAIN IN LOCALIZED AREAS...MAINLY ALONG THE BLUE RIDGE AND APPALACHIAN TRAIL. THE REGION AROUND CHARLOTTESVILLE... STAUNTON... AND HARRISONBURG IS WHERE MOST OF THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE LOCATED AS OF 1:30 PM. THE STRONGEST OF THE STORMS WERE OVER AND JUST EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE. THIS INCLUDES THE NORTHWEST AREAS OF THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES... NELSON... ALBEMARLE... AND MADISON. THESE STORMS WILL PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAIN AND LIGHTNING... AND HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS TO 35 MILES AN HOUR. SOME MOUNTAIN STREAMS ALONG THE BLUE RIDGE WILL RISE VERY RAPIDLY. STAY ALERT... AND STAY TUNED FOR POSSIBLE WARNINGS LATER THIS AFTERNOON. STRONG
The Sterling radar (KLWX), 114 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:37 UTC.
4 lightning, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Three widfires, a shed fire, and a tree fire were started by lightning.
Lighting caused an attic fire in a 4-unit apartment building.
Six homes were damaged by lighting.
Heavy downpours flooded roads.
Scattered trees were downed.
Trees and power lines were downed onto roads.
Lightning started a fire which damaged the roof of an apartment building.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Virginia in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, April 2002
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: 5293747, 5293748, 5292356, 5293749, 5292358, 5292357, 5292359.