Lightning Strike in Virginia, July 3 to 4, 2002

Name: Lightning Strike in Virginia, July 3 to 4, 2002
Start: 2002-07-03T23:27
End: 2002-07-04T23:27
Location: Virginia

July 3 to 4, 2002 · NWS RNK · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Lighting during the late evening of the 3rd struck a house, starting a fire which destroyed the house.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $125,000
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 RNK wrote it up.

Lighting during the late evening of the 3rd struck a house, starting a fire which destroyed the house.

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 Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 3, 10:45 PM EST, 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 3, 10:45 PM EST, 42 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG, VA
1145 PM EDT WED JUL 3 2002

WILL ISSUED A QUICK UPDATE TO ADJUST ZONES PER RADAR TRENDS. ALSO
WILL REMOVE MIDNIGHT WORDING REFERENCES.

.RNK...
.NC...NONE.
.VA...NONE.
.WV...NONE.

07

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION BELOW...

WITH SHOWERS/STORMS GRDLY DMNSHG AND PUSHING NW OF THE CWA...WILL
UPDATE TO DROP WATCH AND LOWER POPS OR LIMIT TIL MIDNGT WRN ZONES.
SOME SMALL ADJUSTS TO TEMPS OTRW APRS ANOTHER REPEAT SCENARIO OVRNGT
WITH PLENTY OF FOG ARND. MAY AGAIN BE ABLE TO UPDATE AGAIN TO REMOVE
ALL POPS LATER BUT WILL LET A LOW CHC RIDE FOR NOW.

.RNK...
NC...NONE.
VA...NONE.
WV...NONE.

JH

AFTERNOON DISCUSSION BELOW...

SHORT RANGE...

FIRST OFF...A SVR TSTM WATCH IN EFFECT TIL 8 PM FOR OUR WHOLE FA.
WILL HAVE LIKELY POPS ALONG AND EAST OF BLUE RIDGE THRUGH EARLY
EVENING WITH 50 POPS IN THE FAR WEST.

AGAIN...ACTIVITY SHOULD DECREASE AND END BY LATE EVENING. LEE TROF
SHIFTS EAST OVERNIGHT...THEN FRONT MOVES INTO THE PA-OH VLY REGION
THURSDAY. ANOTHER UNSTABLE DAY...WITH BEST LOW LVL CONVERGENCE
OCCURRING ACROSS THE NRN CWA...WHERE I WILL PUT HIGHER POPS. MDLS
SLOWING FRONT DOWN...ESP AVN...SO MAY HAVE TO ADD CHANCE POPS
FURTHER NORTH INTO THE NRV.

EXTENDED...

STILL APPEARS 5H RIDGE WILL RETROGRADE NEXT WEEK...AS TROF DIGS OVER
THE EAST BY TUESDAY. SFC FRONT WILL BE TO OUR SOUTH SAT MORNING...SO
SAT APPEARS DRY FOR NOW. MEAN RH INCREASES OVER THE BLUE RIDGE
SUNDAY...BUT STILL APPEARS ANY ACTIVITY WILL STILL BE TO OUR SOUTH.
MEAN LAYER MOISTURE CONTINUES INCREASING MONDAY. FRONT APPROACHES FA
LATE MONDAY...PASSING THROUGH THE FA LATE TUESDAY. SO TUESDAY
APPEARS TO BE THE BETTER DAY FOR CHANCES OF TSRA...ALTHOUGH THINK A
CHANCE IN THE MTNS MONDAY AFTN MAY BE REQUIRED. THE FRONT SHOULD BE
TO ERN NC WED AFTN...BUT PLAN ON KEEPING A CHANCE IN FOR MOST OF THE
AREA THEN.

PRELIM CCF NUMBERS
FCSTID = 5
ROA   70  92  70  90 /  50  40  30  10
LYH   68  93  68  89 /  60  40  30  10
DAN   71  94  71  91 /  50  30  30  30
BLF   64  84  64  83 /  40  30  30  30
LWB   62  83  61  82 /  40  40  30  10
BCB   64  89  64  84 /  50  40  30  30
TNB   62  84  62  84 /  70  40  30  30

WHP

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 3, 5:38 PM EST, 5 hours 49 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
638 PM EDT WED JUL 03 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

407 PM     GLEN WILTON               VA   0.75 INCH HAIL
07/03/02   BOTETOURT                      PUBLIC REPORT.

415 PM     IRON GATE                 VA   WIND DAMAGE
07/03/02   BOTETOURT                      POWERLINES DOWN.  LARGE
                                          LIMBS BROKEN OFF TREES.
                                          REPORTED BY SPOTTER.

418 PM     MARTINSVILLE              VA   WIND DAMAGE
07/03/02   HENRY                          LARGE LIMBS BROKEN OFF
                                          TREES.  PUBLIC REPORT

420 PM     MARTINSVILLE              VA   0.75 INCH HAIL
07/03/02   HENRY                          REPORTED BY SKYWARN
                                          SPOTTER.

428 PM     DRY FORK                  VA   0.75 INCH HAIL
07/03/02   PITTSYLVANIA                   REPORTED BY SPOTTER.

432 PM     DEEP GAP                  NC   0.88 INCH HAIL
07/03/02   WATAUGA                        PUBLIC REPORT.

450 PM     PETERS MOUNTAIN           VA   WIND DAMAGE
07/03/02   CRAIG                          TREES DOWN.  REPORTED BY
                                          SPOTTER.

500 PM     DIXIE CAVERNS             VA   1.00 INCH HAIL
07/03/02   ROANOKE                        SPOTTER REPORT.

510 PM     BLACKSBURG                VA   0.75 INCH HAIL
07/03/02   MONTGOMERY                     SPOTTER REPORT.

525 PM     SALEM                     VA   0.75 INCH HAIL
07/03/02   ROANOKE                        SPOTTER REPORT.

530 PM     BLACKSBURG                VA   1.00 INCH HAIL
07/03/02   MONTGOMERY                     SKYWARN SPOTTER.

538 PM     2E TAZEWELL               VA   1.00 INCH HAIL
07/03/02   TAZEWELL                       PUBLIC REPORT.

540 PM     PULASKI                   VA   WIND DAMAGE
07/03/02   PULASKI                        NUMEROUS TREES DOWN.
                                          SKYWARN SPOTTER.

556 PM     PEMBROKE                  VA   0.75 INCH HAIL
07/03/02   GILES                          PUBLIC REPORT.

Local storm report, Jul 3, 6:56 PM EST, 4 hours 31 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
756 PM EDT WED JUL 03 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0530 PM    2S NEW CASTLE             VA   WIND DAMAGE
07/03/02   CRAIG                          TREE DOWN ON POWERLINE.

0615 PM    BLACKSBURG                VA   FLOODING
07/03/02   MONTGOMERY                     STREETS FLOODED DOWNTOWN
                                          AND ON COLLEGE
                                          CAMPUS.REPORTED BY
                                          POLICE.

0650 PM    TAZEWELL                  VA   FLOODING
07/03/02   TAZEWELL                       MINOR FLOODING OF PARKING
                                          LOTS.

0615 PM    TAZEWELL                  VA   0.88 INCH HAIL
07/03/02   TAZEWELL                       REPORTED BY POLICE.

0620 PM    PULASKI                   VA   0.88 INCH HAIL
07/03/02   PULASKI                        HAIL DAMAGED VEHICLES
                                          AND
                                          HOUSES.

0700 PM    PEMBROKE                  VA   FLOODING
07/03/02   GILES                          SEVERAL STREETS FLOODED
                                          IN TOWN. WATER OVER ROUTE
                                          100 WEST OF
                                          STAFFORDSVILLE.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Alleghany

When: July 3, 11:27 PM EST to July 4, 11:27 PM EST
Where: Alleghany County, 9 mi S of Clifton Forge City
Property damage: $125,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.788, -80.007 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Virginia in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Virginia, July 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: 5313636.