Severe weather raises a ruckus

By Bryan McKenzie

Published: May 9, 2008

A tornado damaged property in western Virginia Thursday night and heavy winds, hail and up to three inches of rain howled through Central Virginia into Friday, dropping as much as 2.6 inches of rain and leaving about 1,550 customers without power as of Friday morning.

Storms ripped through Virginia, damaging homes in Stafford County, knocking down trees throughout Central Virginia and leaving roadways flooded.

Most counties bordering Albemarle County, and Albemarle itself, were under a flash flood warning Friday morning as well as a flash flood watch. The rain and flooding disrupted school bus routes and commuters and left about 500 customers powerless in Albemarle.

On Thursday evening, approximately 1,700 people found themselves trapped at the Charlottesville Pavilion. Country musician Gary Allan brought them to the Pavilion, but the precipitation kept them there, at least until Charlottesville officials decided it was best to evacuate.

Weather service officials confirmed Friday that a tornado also touched down Thursday night in Franklin and Henry counties in western Virginia. The EF1 twister, with winds of 86 to 95 mph, downed trees and damaged homes in a mile-long path, officials said.

Between 50 to 60 homes in the England Run North subdivision area of Stafford County were damaged when a storm rolled through about 10:30 p.m. Thursday. Pieces of roofs and walls were strewn about the streets. No homes were leveled, but walls were knocked down.

Weather investigators were in the area Friday to inspect damage and debris fields to determine whether the storm could be classified as a tornado. There also were unconfirmed reports of a tornado in the Triangle area in Prince William County.

Although much of Central Virginia spent an hour or more under tornado warnings Friday night, no funnel clouds were reported and none reportedly touched down. Heavy rain, however, put portions of Northern and Central Virginia and southern Maryland under a flood warning Friday morning.

The weather service said excessive runoff from heavy rainfall elevated levels in small creeks and streams and caused ponding of water on roads.

Several roads were closed or flooded, including portions of Route 600 and Route 640 in Albemarle County. All had been reopened by Friday afternoon.