Thunderstorm Wind, Appomattox
- When
- August 16, 6:15 PM EST
- Where
- Appomattox County, 4 mi SE of Appomattox
- Measured
- 60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.317, -78.783
Damaging Winds in Virginia, August 16, 2003
Thunderstorm winds during the late afternoon of the 16th downed trees 7 miles southeast of Appomattox and 4 miles southeast of Appomattox.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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.
Thunderstorm winds during the late afternoon of the 16th downed trees 7 miles southeast of Appomattox and 4 miles southeast of Appomattox.
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 Aug 16, 2:25 PM EST, 3 hours 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 16, 2:25 PM EST, 3 hours 50 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG, VA 325 PM EDT SAT AUG 16 2003 MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE PLACED BY SATL IMAGERY NEAR THE NC/TN BORDER THIS AFTERNOON. REGIONAL 88D IMAGES INDICATED SCT CONVECTION TO OUR WEST ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY. KFCX 88D SHOWED A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ESPECIALLY IN OUR FAR WESTERN COUNTIES. IT IS QUITE UNSTABLE IN FAR EASTERN LOCATIONS AT THIS TIME. 12Z RUN OF THE ETA AND GFS ARE SLIGHTLY DEEPER WITH THE TROF OVER EASTERN US. ANOTHER SHORTWAVE WILL MOVE ACROSS OUR AREA LATE TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY. WITH PWS UPSTREAM FCST TO REMAIN AOA 1.50... ANY STRONGER STORMS THAT DEVELOP COULD PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS/INTENSE RAINFALL RATES. WENT WITH TAPERED POPS TONIGHT RANGING FROM 50 PERCENT IN THE NORTHWEST TO 30 PERCENT IN THE SOUTHEAST. WITH VORT LOBE MOVING THROUGH ON SUNDAY KEPT SCT CONVECTION IN FORECAST. LOWERED TEMPERATURES A FEW DEGREES SUNDAY NIGHT. AS SFC HIGH BUILDS ACROSS REGION MONDAY THRU WEDNESDAY...THE UPPER TROF SITS ALONG THE COAST. COLD AIR ALOFT WILL SPARK SOME CONVECTION ESPECIALLY DURING THE AFTERNOON WITH HEATING. HOLDING ON TO CHC POPS ON MONDAY WITH HEALTHY LAPSE RATES. KEPT SMALL DIURNAL CHC OF CONVECTION TUESDAY THRU THURSDAY. ON FRIDAY A SFC TROF AND SHEARED UPPER SYSTEMS ROLLS ACROSS WITH BETTER CHANCES. LOWERED OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURES MONDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT. ADDED DRY DAY 7/SATURDAY. ZONES WILL BE AVAILABLE BY 4 PM. HAVE A GREAT NIGHT. FCSTID = 7 PRELIM NUMBERS ROA 69 85 65 84 / 30 40 20 30 LYH 67 85 64 83 / 30 40 20 30 DAN 70 88 68 86 / 30 40 30 30 BLF 62 79 60 76 / 50 30 20 20 LWB 61 78 60 76 / 50 30 20 20 BCB 63 81 61 80 / 40 30 20 30 TNB 61 79 59 77 / 40 30 30 30 .RNK... NC...NONE. VA...NONE. WV...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 16, 6:10 AM EST, 12 hours 5 minutes before
NCZ001>006-018>020-VAZ007-009>020-022>024-032>035-043>047-058-059- WVZ042>045-161015- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 710 AM EDT SAT AUG 16 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA... WESTERN AND CENTRAL VIRGINIA...AS WELL AS NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TODAY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN WILL BRING A THREAT OF MINOR FLOODING ACROSS PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND SOUTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA THROUGH LATE MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.
The radar
The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 136 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:13 UTC.
Event by event
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm Wind, Appomattox
- When
- August 16, 6:20 PM EST
- Where
- Appomattox County, 7 mi SE of Appomattox
- Measured
- 60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.283, -78.750
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
- Flash Flood and Hail in Massachusetts, August 16, 2003
- Lightning Strike in New Hampshire, August 16, 2003
- Wildfire and Dust Devil in Montana, August 16, 2003
- Damaging Wind in South Carolina, August 16, 2003
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Virginia, August 16 to 17, 2003
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Georgia, August 16, 2003
- Flash Flood and Hail in Maryland, August 16, 2003
- Wildfire in Montana, August 16 to 31, 2003
- Damaging Winds in Maryland, August 16, 2003
- Flash Flood in North Carolina, August 16 to 17, 2003
- Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, August 16, 2003
- Damaging Winds in Michigan, August 16, 2003
More
Every storm in Virginia in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, August 2003
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: 5332757, 5332756.