SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY, Va. — The Franklin-Southampton County Fair has been cancelled for this year, after strong winds during a severe thunderstorm damaged fairgrounds Sunday evening.
In a post on Facebook around 7:30 p.m., organizers said they would be unable to hold the fair, planned for Aug. 7-10, after the grounds were severely damaged by a "tornado" within days of the event.
However, a National Weather Service site survey on Monday concluded there was no tornado. It was "an area of intense thunderstorm straight line winds" reaching speeds up to 80-90 mph that caused the damage. Those are thunderstorm winds that have no rotation.
NWS meteorologist Alec Butner told 13News Now that radar and other weather data indicated the winds began around 6:05 p.m. and were very localized to the area right over the fairgrounds, due west of the city limits of Franklin.
The winds began south of the Southampton County Fairgrounds and moved north. They snapped trees, threw large tree limbs up to 100 feet and ripped an overhead door off a metal building. The roofs of several wooden outbuildings were completely collapsed, with walls significantly damaged.
"It sounded like a train was going through, just not a normal sound at all," said Susan Spivey, who lives right across the street.
Spivey said she jumped into the closet with her dog after she noticed the strange weather outside. By morning, she said she saw the damage outside and heard about the canceled fair.
"Very sad. I grew up with the fair, and I know how hard the kids work for it," she said.
Hundreds of people also took to Facebook to show their disappointment.
Fair organizers said on Facebook that no one had been injured. They asked the community to not go to the fairgrounds, which are closed.
"We appreciate your thoughts and prayers at this time," the post stated.
At this time it's unclear how long the fairgrounds will stay closed, or what will happen for next year.
The National Weather Service said a separate area of thunderstorm wind damage was observed at Riverdale Elementary School, where a small shed was blown over and a few large tree limbs were downed. Peak wind gusts there were estimated at around 60 mph.