Power Outage in Floyd, VA

A line of thunderstorms producing damaging winds knocked several trees down in the city of Floyd, with some power lines being brought down by the trees.

Skywarn-trained weather spotters and members of the general public observed ice accumulations from freezing rain ranging from 0.25 to 0.30 inches in thickness across portions of Floyd County, including around the communities of Indian Valley, Alum Ridge, Pilot and Check. Key impacts: power outages; hazardous travel conditions; tree damage; schools closed.

Skywarn-trained weather spotters, a Cooperative Weather Observer, and members of the general public observed ice accumulations ranging from 0.25 to 0.75 inches in thickness across portions of Floyd County, including around the communities of Check, Endicott, Callaway and Terrys Fork. Modest sleet accumulations of up to 0.1 inches were also observed in spots across the county. The icing resulted in over 6,480 power outages, or roughly two thirds of the county's residents. Numerous automobile accidents were also reported. Thousands of trees and tree limbs were also brought down by the weight of the icing. Key impacts: power outages; hazardous to impossible travel conditions; automobile accidents; widespread tree damage.

Ice accretion totals across the county included 0.25 inches at a location two miles south-southeast of Pilot, 0.30 inches at a location two miles east-southeast of Willis, and 0.40 inches at a location two miles south of Terrys Fork. Hundreds of customers were without power.

Damaging wind gusts, estimated to be 40 mph to locally 60 mph, blew down several trees across the county. These strong winds also caused scattered power outages across the county.

Wind gusts estimated to be in the 25 to 35 mph range were common during the passage of Tropical Storm Michael across Floyd County. These gusty winds, when combined with the effects of saturated ground due to heavy rain from the storm, resulted in dozens of trees blown down across the county, some of which blocked roads. Several power lines were blown down as well, resulting in power outages which affected at least 1,000 customers across the county.

Thunderstorm winds blew down one tree at the intersection of Huffville Road and Lick Ridge Road and a power line along Lick Ridge Road.

Snowfall totals across the county include 8.0 inches five miles south-southwest of Callaway, 9.0 inches two miles south of Pilot and at Floyd, 10.5 inches five miles northwest of Woolwine, 11.0 inches at Copper Hill and four miles north of Meadows of Dan, 11.5 inches three miles southwest of Indian Valley and four miles southeast of Terrys Fork, 14.3 inches two miles south of Terry Fork, 14.5 inches at Indian Valley, and 15.0 inches four miles northeast of Alum Ridge and two miles south-southeast of Pilot. Approximately 2300 electric customers lost power.

Winds blew down more than 30 trees and at least five power lines in the county. Damage values are estimated.

A power line was blown down along Poor Farm Road, which started a brush fire.

A power line was blown by thunderstorm winds near Fairview Church Rd. and Route 8.

Snowfall amounts between 5 to 8 inches were observed across several locations in the county. The highest accumulation was in the Floyd area where 8 inches was measured. Strong winds after the storm caused 95 power outages in the county.

The public observed 1/10 inch of ice accumulation on trees and power lines in the Cooper Hill area.

The Floyd County 911 Center reported that numerous large trees were down across the county, including one on U.S. Highway 221 just north of the city of Floyd and another just south of the city of Floyd, and one on Christiansburg Pike between Christiansburg and Floyd. Appalachian Electric Power reported that 3381 customers were without power for several hours as a result of downed power lines across the county.

High winds brought a power line down in the 4100 block of Daniels Run Road four miles east of Pilot. Winds also brought a tree down on a power line on Goff Road near Green Acres Hill Lane near Terrys Fork. Damage values are estimated.

Thunderstorm winds blew a tree down on a power line. The tree also fell onto a house on Harris Hollow Road. Damage values are estimated.

Reports of ice accretion up to 3/4 inch northwest of Endicott were received and many large tree limbs and a few trees were down. Around 1/4 inch ice accumulation was reported in the town of Floyd. Appalachian Power Company said several thousand customers lost power, some for several days.

From 8 to 10 inches of snow fell across the county with isolated amounts up to 14 inches. There were reports of snow drifts as high as 3 feet and some power outages caused by the heavy, wet snow.

Ice accumulations of 0.25 to 0.40 inches downed trees and power lines. The heaviest ice accumulations occurred across Buffalo Mountain.