HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - The most recent derecho in our area was May 14, 2018. There were power outages, trees down, and even flooding in parts of Page County. There was golf ball size hail reported at Afton Mountain (1.8″)

Wind reports exceeded 50mph across our area with widespread severe storms. At the Weyers Cave airport, a gust of 53mph was recorded. In Franklin, a gust of 60mph recorded.

After the storms there was a nice display of mammatus clouds, the first time I’ve seen them locally.

Typically these kind of clouds form at the bottom of the anvil in a cumulonimbus cloud. It’s very common for these kind of clouds to be associated with severe thunderstorms but they don’t mean you’re about to experience a bad storm. Usually they will be after a storm or you can see them in the distance.

HOW OFTEN DOES A DERECHO HAPPEN?

On average, Virginia can experience a derecho every 2-4 years. They are much more common across the Great Plains

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