UPDATE, 6:10 p.m. Monday: As of around 5:45 p.m. Appalachian Power was reporting 10,249 customers without power in Amherst and Campbell counties and Lynchburg — down from 20,000 at the height of the storm. In a Monday news release Appalachian Power said it aims to restore power to customers in those localities by midnight Wednesday, except for “areas with extreme and/or isolated damage.”
UPDATE, 3:10 p.m. Monday: Timberlake Road has reopened to through traffic, according to the Campbell County Sheriff's Office.
"Please be alert and drive slowly as work continues in the area," the sheriff's office said on social media.
Amherst resident Steve Garber said he was in his house Sunday night when “all of a sudden the wind started howling,” and the rain was “swirling” outside. He said he didn’t realize all the damage until the storm cleared.
Although his house on High Peak Road only sustained minor damages, trees uprooted and fell on a power line in his front yard. Garber said the storm was “the worst ever.”
High Peak Road resident Nelson Layne spent time using a chainsaw to cut down a large tree that was uprooted on his property and fell into the road. He said he’s “never seen anything like” Sunday’s storm.
Layne was with his wife catching up on house chores when neighbors stopped by to tell them about the tornado, he said. When the tornado hit, Layne said he was expecting a thunderstorm, but “it was like a roar.”
“I’ve never heard anything like it,” Layne said.
Layne said the tornado only lasted approximately five minutes but left the front part of his barn missing. Several giant trees along Layne’s property uprooted and fell.
Terri Johnson, another High Peak Road resident, said she was sitting down for dinner when the tornado hit.
“I couldn’t eat I was so scared. There was a train noise. It didn’t last long, maybe less than 10 minutes. Then it was kind of calm, and it rained. It was very scary,” Johnson said.
UPDATE, 3:05 p.m. Monday: Steve Keighton, science and operations officer at The National Weather Service in Blacksburg, said he is working to assess the overall length and width of the storm path. This could take a couple of days to gather from the entire state. He is looking at the radar and talking to residents along the way.
“We will be able to determine when it touched down and lifted back up,” said Keighton, who earlier Monday described what weather service officials have seen so far as "tornadic."
“We don’t know if it continued all the way to Elon or maybe it lifted up and touched down again.”
This morning he met with Tracy Fairchild, director of emergency services for Campbell County, and they saw much of the Timberlake Road area. Keighton saw cars damaged and structures like the Burger King and Starbucks destroyed. He said those businesses were “well built.”
“We are looking for clues to suggest what wind speeds might have been,” he said.
The storm came from a cold front in Greensboro which also saw strong winds. Usually on the day after a major storm, Keighton sees chilly and windy weather. The mountains may even see snow.
There is also possible damage in Buckingham County.
“More than likely we will have to send another crew out tomorrow,” Keighton said.
Some of the counties have documented damage with drones, and Keighton hopes that will help with the assessment.
UPDATE, 2:55 p.m. Monday: Lynchburg and Amherst County public schools will be closed Tuesday, April 17.
UPDATE, 1:55 p.m. Monday: In a stretch of Elon Road in Amherst County, debris scattered both sides of Virginia 130 early Monday as the sight of ravaged homes in a neighborhood close to the highway and downed power lines dominated the usually quiet countryside.
Homes close to Elon Elementary School, several miles from U.S. 29 Business in Madison Heights, were hardest hit from a possible tornado that drew a widespread emergency response around 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Amherst County Public Safety Director Gary Roakes said shortly before noon.
An estimated 25 homes either were completely destroyed or received heavy damage from the storm and seven people were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Residential homes have been triple-checked by emergency personnel, he said, and officials do not have any reports of anyone missing or fatalities.
“We do not expect anything as far as that goes in the future,” Roakes said.
The Virginia Department of Emergency Management and a slew of other agencies are in Elon, he said. Other parts of the county has suffered damage as well, he said, and trees uprooted and hanging over homes were commonly spotted within close proximity of Elon Baptist Church, where officials organized a command post.
Emergency workers are doing damage assessment Monday and building officials are going through homes to monitor what can be salvaged, according to Roakes. Virginia State Police is providing security in neighborhoods and monitoring traffic as cleanup continues, he said.
The command post in Elon is not taking donations and residents who don’t live in the area are advised to stay away, as the unnecessary traffic hampers ongoing recovery work, he said.
Gleaning for the World will take donations from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 17 and April 18 at Sam’s Club on Wards Road in Lynchburg or other times at its headquarters in Concord, Roakes said.
Meanwhile, Amherst County Public Works will provide solid waste containers in the affected areas of Nottoway Drive and Deerfield Drive so residents can bring large amounts of debris. A shelter was opened at Monelison Middle School Sunday, and while it has served families no one stayed there overnight, he said.
The Southern Baptist Association and other groups are assisting those affected in Elon, but Roakes said volunteers are not needed right now in the area. A National Weather Service team with meet with Amherst County officials to assess the storm damage, Roakes said.
The damage is reminiscent of the derecho windstorm of the summer of 2012 that caused widespread power line damage, leaving thousands without power for days in the sweltering summer heat hovering 90 degrees and higher.
Roakes said in comparing the two weather events, Sunday’s possible tornado was more isolated and caused heavier structural damage. A native of the county who has responded to countless emergency calls throughout the past three decades, he said Sunday’s storm marks one of the most impactful natural disasters to strike Amherst County.
UPDATE, 1:27 p.m. Monday: Steve Keighton, science and operations officer at The National Weather Service in Blacksburg, has been riding in a white truck all day assessing damage from Lynchburg as well as Campbell and Amherst counties.
He will take the information he gathers and write a report which can be accessed from the NWS website tonight or tomorrow. He arrived in Lynchburg around 10 a.m. Monday morning.
“This particular [storm], even before we left the office, we had a high degree of confidence it was [a tornado] because of eye witness reports, the radar strongly indicated it. We needed to confirm it but we can say so far with what we’ve seen is tornadic,” Keighton said.
UPDATE, 12:51 p.m. Monday: More than 15,000 Appalachian Power customers in Virginia remained without electricity as of shortly before 1 p.m. Monday, the utility said. Of the 15,200 customers without power, 14,000 are in Lynchburg, Amherst County and Campbell County. Lynchburg alone had 10,000 outages.
At the peak of Sunday's storm, approximately 20,000 were without power.
"With the exception of areas with extreme and/or isolated damage, the goal is to restore power by midnight Wednesday to customers in Lynchburg, Amherst and Campbell County. In the Lovingston area, the goal is Tuesday, 6 p.m. For all other areas, restoration is expected by midnight tonight," APCo said in a news release.
About 30 contract crews will assist APCo employees with restoration work. Most will work in the Lynchburg area. The contract crews coming in to assist are from other parts of Virginia and West Virginia.
The following roads are closed, according to the Lynchburg Police Department:
- Old Graves Mill Road near Kroger
- Timberlake near Dreaming Creek (crews are working to re-open)
- Lakeside Drive from Givens Books to Wyndale Drive
- Oakwood / Rivermont / Peakland Place around the country club.
- Woodside / Manton Lane off Link Road
- Link Road is closed from Boonsboro end to Ivy Drive, both directions.
Virginia 130 in the Elon area of Amherst County has reopened, but the Virginia Department of Transportation asks drivers to avoid the area so clean-up can continue safely.
Timberlake Road from Laxton Road (Lowe’s) to Waterlick Road remains closed until further notice.
On Monday, Amherst resident John Fuqua said he was on the phone Sunday with his mother who lives on High Peak Road to go to the basement when the line went dead.
“It put a little fear and panic in all of us because I didn’t know how bad or what was going on other than the weather forecast,” Fuqua said.
He said he later found out his mother went to his aunt’s house next door and was safe but “scared and very shaken up.”
Fuqua’s mother is still able to live in her house, although it doesn’t have power and they don’t know when the power will come back, he said.
Fuqua said he grew up on High Peak Road and has seen storms before but not like Sunday night’s.
“[The damage] was pretty devastating with the amount of big, mature trees uprooted like it was nothing. There’s a telephone pole that’s snapped like a toothpick,” Fuqua said. “Nothing has ever taken place like that before.”
UPDATE, 11:51 a.m. Monday: Virginia's governor has declared a state of emergency after storms ripped through parts of western Virginia.
Gov. Ralph Northam tweeted Monday that he made the declaration "to help local and state agencies respond to damage" from Sunday night's storms. --Associated Press
UPDATE, 10:54 a.m. Monday: In Campbell County, the Timberlake Road area sustained most of the storm damage, according to county spokesperson Sherry Harding.
About 15 to 20 commercial buildings are reported as damaged. Officials still are assessing damage to residential areas and know of at least three structures with damage, and that number could increase. No school buildings were damaged significantly, although there will be some necessary roof repairs and repairs to athletic field structures. There were no "transportable injuries" reported.
Timberlake Road from Laxton Road (Lowe’s) to Waterlick Road remains closed until further notice.
Among the buildings damaged were MedExpress, Waterlick Garage and Tire, and the Burger King on Timberlake Road.
According to Burger King’s Lynchburg Managing Director Vicky Eitel, most of the restaurant's damage was sustained from debris that flew off of MedExpress and Waterlick Garage.
“The ceiling has collapsed in the kitchen and we have a beam completely through our roof,” Eitel said. “Right now we’re just waiting for (Timberlake) to reopen so we can get some crews in here. It will take us at least a week to reopen.”
No employees were injured and although this location is closed, she said workers will be able to fill in at other locations and keep their jobs during the clean up.
At Waterlick Garage and Tire on Timberlake, General Manager Scott Davis said no one was there Sunday evening when the storm occurred.
“Right now we’re just waiting for the fire department to clear us to go inside and try and get our stuff out,” he said as he surveyed the damage Monday morning.
In Nelson County, Russell Gibson, Nelson County’s emergency services coordinator, said on the phone Monday morning that the county saw water and wind, but did not report emergency incidents related to the weather.
“We escaped pretty much unscathed; because we were, we were able to go to neighboring jurisdictions,” Gibson said. “We sent three to four units [to areas] just south of us.”
Gibson said emergency services volunteers were sent to the Elon area after houses were destroyed.
In Lynchburg, the Salvation Army of Greater Lynchburg has opened a shelter at 2211 Park Avenue. Salvation Army disaster reponse teams will provide support to first responders and residents in storm-affected areas. The organization is asking for donations of individual-sized bottle drinks and non-perishable snack items. For more information, call (434) 845-5939.
Several Centra facilities were impacted by the storm, Centra said in a news release. As of Monday morning, Lynchburg General Hospital is under normal operations, and Virginia Baptist is operating on generator power. Some Centra facilities are closed due to power outages. Stroobants Cardiovascular Center on Atherholt Road and Nationwide Drive will remain closed. Several practices at Virginia Baptist Hospital are attempting to open this afternoon, but Centra advises patients to call ahead of their appointment times to ensure they are open.
"Emergency rooms in Lynchburg, Gretna, Bedford and Southside are in full operations. We also have an urgent care facility in Forest that is operating under normal operations to assist our Lynchburg community," Centra said.
Randolph College is closed today.
UPDATE, 10:15 a.m. Monday: City officials say they are not requesting volunteers at this time.
"The City of Lynchburg has received an outpouring of offers from volunteers to assist with cleanup, and it is much appreciated. As crews continue to assess storm damages in the area, the City is not requesting volunteers at this time," the Lynchburg Police Department said on social media. "There is still debris as well as fallen trees and power lines that may be live; therefore, it is important to take safety precautions so no volunteers will be injured."
UPDATE, 10:10 a.m. Monday: Major Ricky Gardner with the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office said other than some damage to a barn in the Goodview/Moneta area, the county was fortunate compared to the destruction in Lynchburg and Campbell and Amherst counties.
The sheriff’s office sent out about 30 officers last night to help aid the Lynchburg Police Department, Campbell County Sheriff’s Office and Amherst County Sheriff’s Office in any way needed. Gardner said 15 more were assigned to help today.
He also said the office’s cell phone service is out and officers cannot send or receive texts or calls. They can check email. He said he didn’t know how long it would take to fix. The officers are using their radios to communicate. Gardner said he assumes Campbell and Amherst counties as well as Lynchburg officers are having the same issue.
“Relatively speaking, Bedford County was fortunate to not have more damage than what we had,” Gardner said.
The Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance is open this week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for any business, whether they are a member of the alliance or not.
Megan Lucas, CEO of the alliance, said business is the focus of the organization and their new space at 300 Lucado Place is open for any resources a business may need. Resources offered include internet connectivity, desks, chairs, a copier machine, and a printer as well as other resources to help businesses get back on their feet if their office space was damaged. Lucas said businesses from the Wyndhurst and Boonsboro area were using the alliance building on Monday.
"As needed, they can come," she said. "From home-based businesses to mid-sized to large businesses, it doesn't matter. We have the resources for the business community."
UPDATE, 9:30 a.m. Monday: A Lynchburg police officer directing traffic after Sunday's storm was struck by a motorist, police said.
Officer James Goggins was taken to Lynchburg General Hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries. He is being held for further observation.
Goggins was on foot directing traffic at Timberlake Road and Old Graves Mill Road when he was hit by the motorist.
"The Lynchburg Police Department would like to remind motorists to use caution when approaching intersections that are without power and to be on the lookout for first responders, city workers and other utility personnel who are out assisting with the storm damage," police said.
Twelve people with injuries have been seen at Lynchburg General Hospital this morning, according to Centra spokesperson Diane Ludwig.
Ludwig said injuries mainly consist of scrapes, bruises, cuts and a few broken bones. Some Centra facilities are closed because of power outages.
For those seeking shelter, signs set up around Thomas Road Baptist Church on Monday point people in the right direction for shelter provided by the American Red Cross.
Michael Buscemi, lead Disaster Action Team coordinator for the Red Cross, said there are five teams who've fanned out to areas the City of Lynchburg has designated to have received the most damage. They'll be knocking on doors and canvassing those areas to see who's in need of help.
He said one person stayed in the shelter last night and has since left. The shelter can take 300 people but he said "it's impossible to predict" how many might be needing assistance on Monday.
"I think the shock's going to set in to people, because that usually happens whenever you're met with a disaster like this: People ride it out and they wake up the next day and they start seeing the devastation and it starts to sink in," he said. "Things look different in the light of day than they did last night."
Thomas Road Baptist Church is working with the Red Cross, Gleaning for the World and the Liberty University School of Nursing to provide aid to those who need it. Anyone wondering about Red Cross assistance is asked to call 845-1234 to learn more.
"Everybody's eligible to stay here," Buscemi said. "The shelter's open to anybody who needs to stay in here, we don't screen."
Kelly Heckman and her husband John, owners of the Winridge Manor Bed and Breakfast in Madison Heights, provided shelter for one couple last night.
“We did not have any other tornado refugees. We still have room. We have a wedding this upcoming weekend, but we’ll make it work. We’re happy to do whatever is needed,” Kelly Heckman said.
Meanwhile, Timberlake Road from Waterlick Road to Greenview Drive is completely closed while Appalachian Power crews works on power line damage, according to the Campbell County Sheriff's Office.
Virginia 130 in the Elon area of Amherst County has reopened, but the Virginia Department of Transportation asks drivers to avoid the area so clean-up can continue safely.
UPDATE, 6:45 a.m. Monday: More than 16,000 electric-utility customers remained without power in the Lynchburg region as of 6:30 a.m., according to the websites of four regional utilities.
The majority of the outages were in the city of Lynchburg, where more than 11,800 Appalachian Power customers, or about one-third of the city, lacked electricity after a severe storm tore through the region, downing trees and power lines and destroying buildings.
"Please be careful if you have to go out today," city officials said via social media. "There is still debris, downed trees and power lines throughout areas in the City. Do not go around barricades. Assume all power lines are live."
UPDATE 12:02 a.m. Monday: A swath of severe weather Sunday night left homes and businesses damaged, thousands without power and downed trees and power lines in its wake after a storm swept through the Lynchburg area. Around 11:30 p.m. the city of Lynchburg issued a State of Emergency.
The National Weather Service issued multiple severe weather advisories for Lynchburg and surrounding counties, including Appomattox and Campbell counties, and parts of Amherst and Bedford. Severe thunderstorm warnings were later upgraded to a tornado watch for Lynchburg. The Blacksburg NWS did not confirm a tornado touched down in the Lynchburg area, but meteorologists are gathering reports and will be dispatching teams to assess the damage on Monday, said Nick Fillo, NWS meteorologist.
Amherst County Administrator Dean Rodgers said what he believed to be a tornado appeared to touch down near Elon Ruritan Club and headed west of Cedar Gate Road. Rogers said about 20 homes were destroyed and six to seven people were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Capt. John Grieser said there are no major injuries officials are aware of and authorities checked on residents in Amherst’s Elon area.
Via Twitter Lynchburg Department of Emergency Services cautioned residents to stay home, noting: “There are many trees and power lines down and it is not safe to be out.”
At about 11:30 p.m. the city of Lynchburg issued a State of Emergency via the DES Twitter account, asking motorists to “stay off the roadways due to hazardous conditions and to allow Police, Fire and Public Works to respond to problems areas.”
One motorist caught in the wrath of the storm earlier in the night was James Kelley, who was in his car at the parking lot of Burger King on Timberlake Road in Lynchburg when the weather turned.
“All of a sudden the winds got up really bad and it started shaking the car and then my windows shattered out,” he said.
Kelley said a pole struck his vehicle while a large sheet of metal slammed into a truck parked next to his car. He ran from his car into the Burger King to seek shelter as what he believed to be a tornado passed.
Angela Coleman, who said her husband and son both work for the Forest Volunteer Fire Department, brought water, Gatorade and crackers to a damaged warehouse near Timberlake Road and Jordan Drive acting as a command center for first responders.
A Virginia State Police official at the makeshift command center said all of their communications systems were in working order.
The Virginia Department of Emergency Management was on the scene at the Timberlake command center. Multiple fire departments were on scene including, Campbell County Fire and Rescue, the Moneta Volunteer Fire Department, the Brookville-Timberlake Volunteer Fire Department and the Evington Volunteer Fire Department.
Clint Murphy was by himself in his office at The Floor Show on Timberlake Road when the storm hit. Hearing the wind, he said he locked himself in and “I was under my desk. That’s what I was told to do in elementary school!”
There were about a dozen workers, family members and friends trying to take stock of the damage to one of the business’ storerooms with flashlights before they left around 9:30 p.m. That part of the building was pitch black and dripping rainwater, debris littering the floor.
“I heard a loud bang like an explosion or something and the wind whipping through, so I shut my office door and just waited out the wind,” Murphy said.
He emerged to a scene of destruction.
Benjamin Chase DeWitt, the business’ owner, said, “The roof peeled back. The whole storefront…that whole side of the building’s gone.
“The whole showroom…there’s nothing left. Nothing usable.”
Pieces of gutter were lodged in the storeroom walls. Sections of the roof near the showroom were missing.
Workers tried to protect some of the merchandise from further damage by hanging a tarp. DeWitt said he’d return in the morning to do more damage control while there’s sunlight since firefighters weren’t allowing anyone in the showroom for the hazards there.
His first priority was to salvage important documents from his office.
“Upstairs where my office is, is fine,” he said. “Anything on the other side of that? Trashed.”
A little further up the road, David and Cindy Wood parked and walked through the rain to get to the DC’s Express Mart convenience store, which they own. They came from their home in Forest — where one of their dumpsters blew into their neighbor’s place — when they heard that the awning over their gas pumps had crashed to the ground in the winds.
“He came first and cut the gas pumps off and I came with my son later,” Cindy Wood said.
As of 8:45 p.m., David Wood said he couldn’t get in touch with his insurance company about the damage. He said he was lucky, having left the store at about 6:45 p.m., soon before the storm hit.
According to Appalachian Power Company spokesperson Teresa Hamilton Hall, an estimated 20,000 customers were without power across central Virginia as of Sunday night, with roughly 17,000 of those in Lynchburg and surrounding areas. She was unable to provide an exact timeline for restoration of power, but said workers were alerted Sunday morning to prepare for possible outages.
“We’ve been tracking the storm’s path and potential to cause outages for several days; this morning, the company’s management team notified our contract workers to be packed and ready to travel to the hardest hit areas. If needed, assistance could also come from AEP Ohio and Kentucky Power,” Hall wrote via email.
She added employees have reported downed trees, damage to power poles, and wires on the ground. Hall said “workers have not been able to assess the full extent of the damage.”
At last count Dominion Energy reported 4,457 outages in Southside; Central Virginia Electric Cooperative had 1,091; and there were 235 for Southside Electric Cooperative.
A number of schools are closed following Sunday’s severe weather. Lynchburg City Schools, Campbell County Public Schools, and Amherst County Public Schools all announced closures. Both Lynchburg and Randolph colleges announced a delayed start, pushing Monday classes back until noon. The Lynchburg Circuit Court and Circuit Court Clerk’s Office also will be closed Monday, according to a Facebook post on the City of Lynchburg page.
Shelters were opened in the area to aid those displaced by the storm. The Red Cross has opened an emergency shelter in Monelison Middle School in Madison Heights, according to various social media post. Pastor Jonathan Falwell also announced via Twitter that Thomas Road Baptist Church had been opened as an emergency shelter for those in need.
UPDATE 11 p.m.: Jonathan Falwell has opened Thomas Road Baptist Church as a shelter for those impacted by Sunday's storm. He tweeted anyone needing assistance or shelter can come throughout the night or call (434) 239-9281.
UPDATE, 10:41 p.m. Sunday: According to Appalachian Power Company spokesperson Teresa Hamilton Hall there are now 20,000 customers without power across its service area in central Virginia, with roughly 17,000 of those in Lynchburg and surrounding areas. She was unable to provide an exact timeline for restoration of power, but said workers were placed on alert Sunday morning to prepare for possible outages.
“We’ve been tracking the storm’s path and potential to cause outages for several days; this morning, the company’s management team notified our contract workers to be packed and ready to travel to the hardest hit areas. If needed, assistance could also come from AEP Ohio and Kentucky Power,” Hall wrote via email.
She added that employees have reported downed trees, damage to power poles, wires on the ground. Hall said that “workers have not been able to assess the full extent of the damage.”
At last count Dominion Energy reported 4,457 outages; Dominion tallied 2,031 in Southside; Central Virginia Electric Cooperative had 1,091; and there were 235 for Southside Electric Cooperative.
UPDATE, 10:30 p.m. Sunday: Just before 10:30 Sunday night both Lynchburg and Randolph colleges announced a delayed start, pushing Monday classes back until noon.
The Red Cross has opened an emergency shelter in Monelison Middle School in Madison Heights, according to numerous tweets from the community.
UPDATE, 10:20 p.m. Sunday: Numerous Amherst County homes were badly damaged from the severe storm that passed through the area Sunday and residents are advised to avoid the Elon area as a large emergency response has unfolded there, the Amherst County Sheriff's Office said.
"We're in the midst of trying to assess damage and start recovery efforts," said Capt. John Grieser shortly after 9 p.m.
Monelison Middle School has been opened as a shelter for anyone in need and several residents were transported there.
Amherst County Administrator Dean Rodgers said Virginia 130 in the Elon area is closed in both directions and will stay closed through Monday as cleanup continues.
He said about 20 homes are destroyed and six to seven people were taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries.
Grieser said there are no major injuries officials are aware of and residents in the Elon area have been checked on. The Amherst County Humane Society is taking in pets for anyone displaced or those who need to relocate them, he said.
Elon Elementary School is without power, Rodgers said. Emergency workers have been knocking on doors and "everyone is accounted for," he said.
Crews currently are cutting trees on the roadway in Elon, he said.
It appears a tornado touched down at the Elon Ruritan Club and headed west of Cedar Gate Road, Rodgers said.
Amherst County Public Schools are closed Monday, according to the division's website.
"We're trying to get things back in order," Grieser said.
Kelly Heckman, owner of Winridge Manor Bed and Breakfast off Winesap Road in Madison Heights, said she has noticed a large police presence in the area and said up to 10 people can stay there for shelter.
She said a neighbor can take another four people if needed. Winridge Manor can be reached at (434) 333-5207.
According to Appalachian Power Company spokesperson Teresa Hamilton Hall there are 18,000 customers without power across its service area in central Virginia. She was unable to provide an exact timeline for restoration of power, but said workers were placed on alert Sunday morning to prepare for possible outages. She added that the 18,000 number could climb.
"When we have storms, those numbers change rapidly,” Hall said.
At last count Dominion Energy reported 4,457 outages; Dominion tallied 2,031 in the Southside; Central Virginia Electric Cooperative had 1,091; and there were 235 for the Southside Electric Cooperative.
UPDATE, 9:17 p.m. Sunday: The National Weather Service in Blacksburg has not confirmed a tornado touched down in the Lynchburg area. Meteorologists are in the process of gathering reports from the area and will be dispatching teams to assess the damage said on Monday, Nick Fillo, NWS meteorologist.
Nick Fillo, NWS meteorologist said "we are going to be sending some teams our there tomorrow to determine the characteristics of the storm, if the damage was caused by a tornado or straight line winds."
Now that the storms have departed, his staff is trying to determine where the damage occured and to what extent. His office will issue a statement Monday morning.
As of 9 p.m. Sunday night no fatalities had been reported, according to Fillo although there are widespread reports of trees and power lines down and power outages.
About 20,000 residents in the counties of Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, Campbell and the city of Lynchburg are without power at this hour according to Dominion, Southside, Central Virginia Electric Cooperative and Appalachian power companies.
Fillo recommends residents proceed with caution in the morning because of ht epotential for live power lines and debris.
At about 9:30 Campbell County Public Schools announced school is cancelled for Monday.
UPDATE, 9:08 p.m. Sunday: Appalachian Power reports more than 14,000 customers without power in the Lynchburg area.
Widespread reports of damage and downed trees throughout Lynchburg and surrounding counties.
UPDATE, 8:02 p.m. Sunday: Downed trees and powerlines have blocked traffic along Lakeside Drive in Lynchburg. Lynchburg Fire department trucks have closed the road to traffic.
Earlier: The National Weather Service has issued multiple severe weather advisories for Lynchburg and surrounding counties.
Appomattox and Campbell counties, parts of Amherst and Bedford counties and Lynchburg are all under a severe thunderstorm warning.
The National Weather Service has also issued a tornado watch for Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford and Campbell counties as well as Lynchburg. The watch will remain in effect until 11 p.m. The National Weather Service advised large hail and damaging winds are likely.
“For your safety, move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Stay away from windows,” the warning states.