Strong Wind, Highland
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Highland forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
Strong Wind in Virginia, February 1, 2002
A strong cold front pushed through the region during the afternoon of the 1st. For several hours after the front passed, northwest winds gusted between 35 and 50 MPH.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 19 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
- 1
- Property damage
- $15,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 23
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 strong cold front pushed through the region during the afternoon of the 1st. For several hours after the front passed, northwest winds gusted between 35 and 50 MPH. The winds downed trees and wires in some communities, resulting in isolated power outages. In Charlottesville, one downed tree crashed through the roof of a home. In the nearby community of Boyd Tavern, a tree fell onto a truck at the intersection of Route 250 and Black Cat Road. A man inside the truck received minor injuries. Wind gusts across the northern half of Virginia included 53 MPH at Reston, 51 MPH at Manassas, 49 MPH at Leesburg, 48 MPH at Fredericksburg, 47 MPH at Falls Church, 46 MPH at Culpeper and Winchester, 45 MPH at Dulles International Airport, and 44 MPH at Quantico and Reagan Washington National Airport.
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 Feb 1, 9:15 AM EST, 2 hours 45 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 1, 9:15 AM EST, 2 hours 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
915 AM EST FRI FEB 1 2002
WINDS AND TEMPS ARE INCREASING QUICKLY ACROSS THE FA AND A LITTLE
MORE THAT EXPECTED...SO WILL RAISE WINDS AND TEMPS IN ALL ZONES
TODAY. WILL ALSO KEEP IN A LOW CHC OF SHOWERS THIS AFTERNOON WITH
FRONTAL PASSAGE.
ND
.LWX...
DC...WIND ADVISORY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING FOR ZONE DCZ001.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR THE TIDAL POTOMAC.
MD...WIND ADVISORY FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING FOR ZONES
MDZ002>003...MDZ004>007...MDZ009>011...MDZ013>014...MDZ016>018.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR THE TIDAL POTOMAC AND CHESAPEAKE BAY.
VA...WIND ADVISORY FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING FOR ZONES
VAZ021...VAZ025>031...VAZ036>040...VAZ041>042...VAZ050>057.
WV...WIND ADVISORY FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING FOR ZONES
WVZ048>055.The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
23 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Strong Wind, Augusta
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Augusta forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.109, -78.974 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Rockingham
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Rockingham forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.481, -78.872 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Nelson
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Nelson forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 37.787, -78.887 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Albemarle
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Albemarle forecast zone
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $15,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.029, -78.477 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Greene
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Greene forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.298, -78.467 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Orange
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Orange forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.246, -78.013 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Madison
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Madison forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.414, -78.279 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Spotsylvania
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Spotsylvania forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.244, -77.558 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, King George
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- King George forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.274, -77.156 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Stafford
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Stafford forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.421, -77.457 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Culpeper
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Culpeper forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.486, -77.956 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Rappahannock
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Rappahannock forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.685, -78.159 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Page
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Page forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.620, -78.484 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Shenandoah
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Shenandoah forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.858, -78.571 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Frederick
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Frederick forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 39.195, -78.213 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Clarke
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Clarke forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 39.112, -77.997 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Warren
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Warren forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.909, -78.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Fauquier
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Fauquier forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
Strong Wind, Loudoun
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Loudoun forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
Strong Wind, Prince William
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Prince William forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
Strong Wind, Fairfax
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Fairfax forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.841, -77.291 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Arlington
- When
- February 1, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Arlington forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.855, -77.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Strong Wind
- Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- High Wind in New York, February 1, 2002
- Avalanche in Colorado, February 1, 2002
- High Wind in Ohio, February 1, 2002
- High Wind in New York, February 1, 2002
- High Wind in Pennsylvania, February 1, 2002
- High Wind in Michigan, February 1, 2002
- High Wind in Pennsylvania, February 1, 2002
- Winter Storm in New York, February 1, 2002
- Winter Storm in Vermont, February 1, 2002
- Flooding in New York, February 1 to 2, 2002
- Winter Storm in Vermont, February 1, 2002
- High Wind in Vermont, February 1, 2002
More
Every storm in Virginia in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, February 2002
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: 5283596, 5283597, 5283598, 5283599, 5283600, 5283601, 5283602, 5283603, 5283604, 5283605, 5283606, 5283607, 5283608, 5283609, 5283610, 5283611, 5283612, 5283613, 5283614, 5283615, 5283616, 5283617, 5283618.