A tree crashed through a Buena Vista home Monday evening during severe storms that brought heavy rain and strong winds through Rockbridge County.
The massive limb was still on the home at the intersection of Longhollow Road and 38th Street Tuesday morning as a family member and friend of the woman who lived in the home tried to figure out how to remove it.
The family member said the woman was taking a nap downstairs when storms hit and was able to get out safely. He did not identify her but said she is staying with family members until they can get the limb off and the home assessed.
The Monday storms left multiple other trees toppled into roadways and utility lines and thousands of people without power.
According to the National Weather Service, one severe thunderstorm that moved through the county around 3:45 p.m. produced winds of at least 60 mph. A severe thunderstorm watch was in effect until 9 p.m. Monday.
Officials with the National Weather Service office in Blacksburg said a weather station about 3 miles east of Fairfield recorded a 66mph wind gust. Winds at those speeds can cause widespread tree damage as well as damage to things like roofs and siding.
Rockbridge County Fire-Rescue chief Nathan Ramsey said 56 calls came into dispatch during that short time frame.
Branches and tree debris littered county roads from Raphine to Natural Bridge.
“The storms were more widespread (than other recent storms) in terms of the area that they covered,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey said that he didn’t know of any other serious property damage than to the home in Buena Vista, but crews did respond to multiple reports of trees across roads. Larger trees generally need to be removed by the Virginia Department of Transportation, but Ramsey said local crews are always willing to jump in and help where they can.
“They will be there in full force doing what they can to get the roads open safe,” Ramsey said.
By 8:30 p.m. on Monday, more than 2,500 BARC customers were without power in Rockbridge County. Crews worked through the night to try repair broken wires and poles and restore power to customers. By Tuesday morning, only about 200 customers were still in the dark.
More than 150 Dominion customers in the Brownsburg area remained out Tuesday morning after a power line fell at the corner of Brownsburg Turnpike and Sterrett Road. Around 400 Dominion customers in total were still out Monday morning across the county, according to the Dominion outage map.
NWS officials said the combination of 90-degree heat and multiple storm cells fueled the high winds.
“Feeding off all that built-up warmth allowed them to become that intense and cause those very strong wind gusts,” an official said.
A flood watch is in effect until Thursday morning as storms and showers are expected to continue this week.
A ROAD is closed on 6th Street between Magnolia and Sycamore avenues after strong winds toppled trees across the road in Buena Vista. (April Mikels photo)
CREWS WORK to repair a broken power line pole in Brownsburg Tuesday morning. Wind gusts reached as high as 66 mph during the Monday evening storms in Rockbridge County. (Roberta Anderson photo)
