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EF1 tornado in Washington County, Virginia

Tornado April 27, 2011 · Washington County, Virginia

EF1

Rating

3.9 mi

Path length

100 yd

Path width

$75K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 100 yards (0.06 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

Abingdon Tornado. A NWS Storm Survey reported an EF1 tornado touched down near Abingdon. It started about 2 miles south of I-81 exit 17, near Highway 75 and tracked across Highway 58, just south of Highway 11 before dissipating. The max wind of 105 mph downed numerous trees.

The wider storm

Favorable atmospheric conditions resulted in a deadly tornado outbreak across southwest Virginia on the 27th. The tornadoes produced from light to heavy damage to many homes and businesses across southeast Virginia. The thunderstorms produced 4 tornadoes across the area along with 4 deaths and 50 injured.

Began near Vance (36.6800, -81.9800).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

3 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF3 Washington County 4 dead EF1 Washington County EF0 Washington County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 301185. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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