EF3 tornado in Virginia Beach (c) County, Virginia

Tornado April 30, 2023 · Virginia Beach (c) County, Virginia

EF3

Rating

4.5 mi

Path length

350 yd

Path width

$20.0M

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 350 yards (0.20 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF3 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF3 is severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, consistent with estimated gusts of 136–165 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A tornado formed over the eastern branch of Lynnhaven River in the City of Virginia Beach. The tornado progressed up River Road as an EF1, passing by the Great Neck Recreation Center. It increased to an EF2 intensity, as it moved into the Chelsea

neighborhood. The tornado continued onto Haversham Close with EF3 intensity. In this area, several homes were shifted off their foundations and roofs and upper walls were completely removed. The tornado then crossed Broad Bay and the eastern portion of Bay Island, clipping Windward Shore Drive as an EF1. It then moved over First Landing State Park and into Fort Story as an EF1, snapping trees, damaging barracks, and damaging several other buildings before moving offshore. Approximately 115 homes were damaged with 11 homes destroyed according to the City of Virginia Beach. Vehicles were overturned and boats were sunk and moved. There were no deaths and no injuries.

The wider storm

Scattered severe thunderstorms in advance of low pressure and a cold front produced damaging winds and one strong tornado across portions of southeast Virginia.

Began near Ocean Park (36.8830, -76.0860).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1097613. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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