Storm system that collapsed Virginia church tent spawned dozens of damage reports

BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. — The severe storm system that collapsed a tent at Eastlake Community Church in Moneta Friday evening was part of a widespread weather event that produced 82 preliminary wind damage reports across Virginia and 35 in Southwest Virginia alone, according to the National Weather Service.

A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Bedford County around 6:20 p.m. Outflow winds from the storm brought down the tent at the church around 6:40 p.m. An 85-year-old man remembered as a "pillar of the congregation" was killed and 22 others were injured during the church's 20th anniversary celebration.

The region had been outlooked for severe weather since Wednesday, and was placed in a severe thunderstorm watch by the National Weather Service at 2:45 pm Friday.

WTVR

Bedford County's Acting Fire and Rescue Chief Abbey Johnston said the storm moved through quickly, leaving little time to react.

"When the high winds came through very quickly, the tent just catastrophically failed," Johnston said.

Outflow winds occur when a severe thunderstorm produces high gusts of wind away from the actual storm’s location

Johnston said the pastor had begun evacuating the tent when it collapsed.

"Based upon the weather changes, the pastor here at the church was in the process of evacuating the event and the tent when it collapsed," Johnston said. "They just didn't have enough time."

NWS storm reports recorded damage across multiple counties in the region on Friday evening.

In Bedford County, outflow winds produced at least four preliminary damage reports, including the tent collapse and a downed tree on Harbor Village Way in Moneta.

Franklin County saw at least 20 preliminary damage reports, with outflow boundary winds downing at least 18 trees across the northern part of the county. Outflow winds also downed a tree on Indian Run Trail and caused a power line to fall across the road near the intersection of Middle Valley Road and Green Ridge Drive in Hardy.

WTVR

In Pittsylvania County, outflow winds downed a large tree that blocked both lanes of Belair Road. A separate incident saw a tree land on a power line, knocking out power to the area. A third report documented a tree downed onto Renan Road, blocking one lane of the roadway.

The tent collapse remains under investigation. Investigators are gathering evidence, including aerial footage of the structure's footprint, to determine exactly where and how it failed.

WATCH: Man killed in Virginia church tent collapse remembered as 'pillar of congregation'

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