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STORM VIDEO: June 25 severe storm damages tent during blood drive

Posted at 6:20 AM, Jul 12, 2012
and last updated 2012-07-12 06:20:25-04

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) - iPhone video shot by CBS 6 viewer David Amos shows the severe thunderstorm on June 25, 2012 as it approaches the Richmond area, and then captures the moment the gust front arrives. You may recall this long-lived supercell thunderstorm damaged The Diamond and produced widespread tree and wind damage all along the I-64 corridor that afternoon as it tracked southeast. Amos is a Facilities Coordinator at the Virginia Blood Services (VBS), and he took this video on his iPhone while the VBS was holding a blood drive at the main office. Here is David's explanation of the video he shot.

"I have video I shot on my iPhone on Monday, June 25 of the fast-moving storm that hit the Richmond area that I have finally downloaded. I work at Virginia Blood Services and we were holding our Broadcaster’s Blood Drive that day. I was monitoring the weather carefully, as I’m a trained National Weather Service spotter."

"I noticed that this storm was very dangerous, so I went outside to warn our staff, and that’s when I started shooting the video. Just before the end, I noticed this gust front is moving very, very quickly, and I realized that there were people in the marquee tent.  So I ran across the parking lot and got two women and three kids and one of our staff out of the tent. Within a matter of seconds of getting them out, I turn around to see the whole tent get picked up by the winds. We had some clean up and some minor damage, but thankfully nobody was injured."

Thanks, David, for sharing this video, and more importantly, for acting swiftly to keep people at the blood drive safe!

Meteorologist Carrie Rose
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