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EF2 tornado in Smyth County, Virginia

Tornado April 28, 2011 · Smyth County, Virginia

EF2

Rating

2.7 mi

Path length

880 yd

Path width

$2.2M

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 880 yards (0.50 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 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

The tornado with winds estimated up to 115 MPH entered from Washington County and continued northeast until lifting at Carlock Creek Road near Brushy mountain. Five homes received significant damage to their roofs and walls. Three mobile homes were overturned as well. Several other buildings in the path also received moderate damage to their roofs. Numerous large trees were also either uprooted or snapped mid trunk.

The wider storm

Widespread severe weather impacted the area. A strong upper level trough approaching from the west provided strong winds aloft, and a weak upper level low pressure system moved across during the afternoon hours setting off scattered thunderstorms. These storms quickly became severe. In total, there were 6 tornadoes with numerous reports of damaging winds and large hail. Heavy rainfall from these storms also caused scattered flash flooding.

Began near Quarry (36.8160, -81.7250).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Halifax County 1 dead EF1 Smyth County EF0 Botetourt County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 304309. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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