Augusta County man survives close call with fallen tree during tornado
WAYNESBORO, Va. (WHSV) - During the severe thunderstorm on April 26, 2022, Zach Trover was working at home.
“The couch is on this side of the room and the tv is over there.” Trover describes where he was as the storm started.
“I came upstairs to get a drink, and I was watching cartoons on tv because I’m an adult, and it started to hail.”
Trover walked to the back door to take this video for his wife. She’s a teacher and has no windows in her classroom. So he wanted to show her that it was hailing. That’s when the storm turned violent.
“In the 30 seconds I got off the couch and walked to the back door, I saw this bright flash and the tree came down on the house.”
When he turned back around, he saw debris exactly where he was just sitting and was completely stunned at what just happened. This is what he saw.
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“So I just stood there frozen, and took another picture.”
This is what’s left of the tree, the picture doesn’t do it justice. This is 40 inches in diameter.
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“The tree that fell was a healthy one, we just had it all checked out recently so I was really surprised it was the one that fell. It was huge.”
It’s the damage to several hardwood trees that led to National Weather Service to give this tornado an EF-1 rating with winds of 90 miles an hour.
Trover explaines how this room was an addition. It was the family room that was destroyed.
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“Our house is fine, but this is the hangout room, where we would all hangout.”
Standing in front of glass is not something you would want to do during a severe storm, but in this case, it may have saved his life.
“I must have something to do, so that’s why I’m still here.”
MORE STORIES RELATED TO THE TORNADO
Augusta County Tornado
Details of the Storm Survey with Augusta Co Tornado
More details on the storm
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High wind pushes driver off the road during the tornado
Hear from one driver who had a terrifying experience during the storm
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EF-1 tornado confirmed
NWS confirms tornado on 4-26-2022
Power Lines down in storm
Damage during the storm
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