EF1 tornado in Fayette County, West Virginia

Tornado April 29, 2026 · Fayette County, West Virginia

EF1

Rating

5.0 mi

Path length

250 yd

Path width

$25K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 250 yards (0.14 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 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

An EF1 tornado began between US 19 and Whispering Pines Lanes in the Pine Grove community of Fayette County. The tornado skipped along in an east-southeasterly direction with the damage path ending near the intersection of Mountain Vista Drive and US 60 in the Lookout community. Tree damage was extensive along Edmond Road and between Lansing Edmond Road and US 60 with the trunks of some healthy mature hardwood trees snapped in both locations and many trees uprooted. Only some minor roof damage occurred to a couple structures in the tornado's path.

This is the fifth documented tornado to occur in Fayette County since 1961, and the first since 2024. This tornado crossed US 60 a mere 1.9 miles south of where an EF2 tornado crossed on April 2nd, 2024.

The wider storm

On the afternoon of April 29th, a cluster of thunderstorms worked their way through West Virginia amid a passing cold front. Storms mainly exuded moments of damaging wind gusts, with the exception of one that passed over Fayette County. This storm produced an EF1 tornado that traveled 5 miles from Pine Grove over to the community of Lookout. While the tornado was on the ground, extensive tree damage was observed, along with minor roof damage to a few structures in its path. Convection quickly progressed eastward into the Greenbrier Valley that evening as the front made southeastward progress through the region.

Began near Lansing (38.0811, -81.0528).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1331439. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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