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EF1 Tornado — Louisa, Virginia

2022-05-27 · near Louisa, Louisa, Virginia

$100K

Property damage

2.6 mi

Path length

450 yds

Path width

Event narrative

The National Weather Service in Wakefield surveyed the storm damage in central Louisa County and found it to be consistent with low-end EF1 damage with peak wind speeds of 90 to 95 mph. The tornado touched down in an open area southwest of Yanceyville Road near Bend of River. Sparse trees were snapped in the area. The tornado then entered a wooded area northeast of Yanceyville Road with a clear path of snapped and uprooted hardwood trees. The path at this point was over 200 yards wide with likely low-end EF1 damage. Next, the tornado moved through an inaccessible area before impacting a home at the end of a long lane. This home had shingle damage, a window broken, a backdoor ripped off, and damage to the chimney. There was also peripheral damage from snapped and uprooted trees, with a clear and consistent path observed through the trees. The tornado continued through the woods and eventually emerged onto Mount Airy Road and the Hunters Landing subdivision. Numerous large hardwood trees were snapped and uprooted. The fallen trees exhibited a clear circulation pattern in this area as the tornado became quite wide, at least 450 yards. This is where the most concentrated damage occurred and was likely low-end EF1. In addition to tree damage, several homes had shingles ripped off, siding removed, awnings and gutters damaged, and broken windows. Additionally, peripheral damage from fallen trees was observed. From this point, the tornado entered a rural area where the forest had been cleared, with no visible damage indicators. The tornado lifted and dissipated in this area before reaching US-33/Jefferson Highway.

Wider weather episode

Scattered severe thunderstorms in advance of a cold front produced damaging winds and two tornadoes across portions of central Virginia.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.9636, -77.9989)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1031684. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.