In the sunshine of Thursday as a blustery breeze blew, the quiet of the rural Swoope area of Augusta County was broken by the sound of chainsaws cleaning up after the previous night’s path of destruction that cut through pine and oak trees along Buffalo Branch. Located in the central Shenandoah Valley about eight miles west of the city of Staunton, limbs could be seen covering the ground, and treetops looked as if they had been snapped off like toothpicks. Other trees were twisted at the trunk, or pulled out of the ground, left in odd gnarled mounds of splintered wood and pieces of bark.
Most residents believed a tornado came through on a night when destructive thunderstorms and tornadoes raced across the South and Virginia, leaving more than 200 people dead and possibly billions of dollars of damage. Eight people were killed in other areas of Virginia as tornadoes touched down throughout the Commonwealth, and Governor Bob McDonnell (R) declared a State of Emergency because of the severe weather.
In the wee hours of the morning, the roar of the wind along with the lightning and thunder, and the torrential downpour of rain and hail, awakened many throughout the county including an older gentleman living near Buffalo Branch. On Thursday he stopped to talk as he walked to his mailbox amid tree limbs and a neighbor’s destroyed garage. He said the storm woke him up around 2:00 a.m. and sounded like a freight train, adding, “It was just like they always say.”
A huge crane was set up outside an old historic home on Buffalo Branch Lane where most of the roof shingles were gone and one of the two-story brick and stone chimneys had its top destroyed. A path of broken trees through the woods and across the fields led to another area about a mile away with more house damage and destroyed storage sheds.
Scattered across the roadway and in nearby yards were shingles and pieces of siding along with toys, lawn furniture and clothing. Long sheets of metal roofing were caught in tree limbs twenty feet off the ground and outdoor patio equipment was tossed into the tall grass, covered in debris with no indication of how far it had traveled from its original location.
Nearby, another resident didn’t have damage to his home but Dry Branch Creek, running at full bank behind his house, had eaten away at his property as it does with each storm. At the low water bridge up the road, the raging creek covered the concrete crossing, blocking the way for residents of the nine houses on the mountain ridge beyond. Some neighbors rode ATVs to check out damage to the area. The roar of the muddy water in Dry Branch Creek drowned out other sounds for those standing nearby.
At the entrance to North Mountain Estates in the shadow of Elliott’s Knob, neighbors were helping neighbors. The sound of chainsaws could be heard as trees were removed from driveways, roads and houses. The 30 mile an hour wind gusts, coming through Buffalo Gap and sweeping down the slopes of the nearby North Mountain range, made one resident look up at broken limbs hanging over her head in a willow tree to be sure they weren’t about to fall. A group of men stood surveying a neighbor’s shed that was a twisted heap of metal and wood in nearby trees.
Reporters from area news outlets could be seen talking with residents and taking film footage and photos of the damage. One man’s trailer was destroyedwith the metal roof bent back. Contents from inside sat on the lawn as he pounded at the metal pieces with a hammer, a grim look on his face. Across the gravel road, a neighbor’s house sat undamaged.
Through the woods and up a nearby mountain in the Huntington Hills subdivision, a path of twisted trees could be seen as it exited the woods and into yards with evergreens and Bradford Pears uprooted or twisted off their stumps. Several houses had extensive roof damage. One two-story on a cul-de-sac had workers covering the entire roof surface with blue tarp to protect exposed wood. Nearby, the south side of a house was missing its vinyl siding, exposing the plywood underneath. Another house had twisted metal gutters dangling and blowing in the wind.
The National Weather Service has not yet determined if a twister touched down in Augusta County Wednesday night, but residents who heard the sound and saw the extensive damage believe that that must be what it was. They won’t forget the intensity of the lightning, nor the sound of a freight train, a sound they don’t want to ever hear again.
Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
