EF0 tornado in Rockbridge County, Virginia

The tornado touched down along South River Road a little less than a half mile south of the intersection with Highway 56. There was minor damage to a garage, house and barn along South River Road. Several cedar trees were also snapped off at this location. The tornado continued northeast with intermittent damage to trees and the siding of some homes. The tornado crossed Route 56 and lifted near the Augusta County border. Along South River Road in Vesuvius a large cedar tree was uprooted and fell on a metal carport. Winds were estimated to be up to 85 MPH with this tornado.

A strong closed upper level low pressure moved across the Ohio valley, producing a variety of extreme weather across southwest Virginia. In advance of this system,

strong southeast winds produced wind damage across the higher elevations. These southeast winds also provided strong upslope lifting along the Blue Ridge. This helped produce heavy rainfall amounts of 2 to 3 inches and areas of flash flooding. Enough heating occurred ahead of the cold front on the 16th to trigger severe thunderstorms along and east of the Blue Ridge, resulting in widespread thunderstorm wind damage and two tornadoes. Behind the storms, strong northwest winds knocked down many trees given the very wet soil conditions.