Tornado in Halifax County

With all of the devastation this week in eastern Virginia, we must not forget the EF-1 tornado that occurred in Halifax county, near Virgilina, the same afternoon. 

 Here's the storm survey done by folks at the National Weather Service in Blacksburg. I've highlighted some of the basic info.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG 

215 PM EDT TUE APR 29 2008  ...STORM DAMAGE IN HALIFAX COUNTY VIRGINIA CAUSED BY EF1 TORNADO...  A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM SURVEY FOUND THAT STORM DAMAGE THAT OCCURRED IN HALIFAX COUNTY VIRGINIA IN THE TOWN OF VIRGILINA MONDAY AFTERNOON WAS CAUSED BY AN EF1 TORNADO.  WINDS IN THE STORM WERE ESTIMATED TO BE BETWEEN 86 AND 109 MPH. THE STORM WAS ON THE GROUND FROM APPROXIMATELY 110 TO 115 PM. THE INITIAL DAMAGE STARTED JUST SOUTH AND WEST OF THE INTERSECTIONS OF HIGHWAYS 96 AND 49. THIS ON THE WESTERN EDGE OF THE TOWN OF VIRGILINA. THE TORNADO WAS ON THE GROUND FOR APPROXIMATELY ONE MILE TRAVELING TO THE NORTHEAST. SPORADIC DAMAGE OCCURRED FURTHER NORTHEAST ON GILLS MOUNTAIN ROAD FROM STRAIGHT LINE WINDS. AT THE WIDEST POINT...THE TORNADO WAS 240 YARDS WIDE.  6 HOMES WERE DAMAGED...AND NUMEROUS LARGE TREES WERE DOWNED AND SNAPPED.  THE NATIONAL WEATHER WANTS TO EXTEND IT THANKS TO THE VIRGINIA DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT...AND HALIFAX COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE IN THE STORM SURVEY.

---END OF RELEASE---

Tornadoes are common in Virginia, in fact the state typically sees around 6-8 per year. This one was rather wide, and there was never a Tornado warning issued.

Virgilina is near the North Carolina border, and the nearest Doppler radar is in Floyd county (See Map Below). Since the earth is curved the radar beam is shooting too high into the cloud, detecting circulation near the earth's surface can be challenging. You can also see on the map where the next closest NWS radar site is, in Wakefield VA. We'll cover this topic on a future edition of Beyond the Forecast.

View Larger Map

We are so lucky more people didn't get killed out of either of the nearly 10 tornadoes that touched down Monday. Time of day played a major part. Had people been asleep at the time, we'd probably be looking at many more injuries and fatalities. 

With this tragedy on people's minds, there's no better time to prepare for severe weather in southwest Virginia. Tornadoes CAN HAPPEN HERE. They have in the past and will again. The mountains offer little shelter from these massive creatures, and it better to have an evacuation plan ready now, than figure out where you'd go as the storm is minutes away. 

Here are some ideas on where to hide, along with a history of Virginia's tornadoes.

Be safe and welcome May. --Meteorologist Brent Watts

Tornados Strike Eastern VA

So far this evening (Monday) at least 3 tornados have been confirmed by the National Weather Service south of Richmond, extending east toward Suffolk and Norfolk. 

The same front that produced benefitial rain for southwest Virginia, ran into some very unstable air as it moved east. The result? A tornado outbreak that left 1 dead and over 200 injured. Looking at the photos below (WTKR-TV) it's a miracle their weren't more that were hurt. 

• Compared with other States, Virginia ranks number 29 for frequency of Tornadoes
  
• We saw more tornados in Virginia today than we did the entire year of 2007. 

Here's the breakdown from last year. 

• Total number of tornados (2)
• Total people killed (0)
• Total damage estimated ($80,000)

-Meteorologist Brent Watts

Deadly Kansas Tornado

95% of Greensburg, KS was destroyed late Friday night, May 4th, when a tornado stuck that community. Reports confirm eight residents were killed, and many more were injured. Severe weather continued all weekend across the Central Plains and the Midwest.

According to the National Weather Service, the Greensburg tornado was an F-5, the most powerful tornado possible. The tornado cut a 22-mile long path, and the twister was an amazing 1.7 miles wide!

The last tornado of this magnitude was almost exactly eight years earlier, when a tornado struck Oklahoma City on May 3, 1999, killing 36 people. --Jay