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F2 tornado in Shenandoah County, Virginia

Tornado April 28, 2002 · Shenandoah County, Virginia

F2
Rating
4.0 mi
Path length
75 yd
Path width
2
Injuries
$1.6M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 75 yards (0.04 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F2 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F2 meant considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted; the scale paired it with winds of 113–157 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A tornado injured 2 people, destroyed 4 homes, damaged 56 additional homes and 36 agricultural structures, downed numerous trees, and blew over a tractor-trailer on Interstate 81.

The wider storm

A long-lived supercell thunderstorm formed over northwest Rockingham County during the afternoon of the 28th. This severe storm moved east at 45 MPH, damaging property all of the way to the Potomac River. This same storm later produced a devastating F4 tornado in La Plata, MD. While the storm moved through North Central Virginia, it produced an F2 tornado in Shenandoah County, a significant funnel cloud in Fauquier County, large hail, heavy downpours, and scattered wind damage. In Shenandoah County, an F2 tornado touched down just east of Quicksburg near the intersection of Quicksburg Road and Old Bridge Road. The tornado stayed on the ground for 4 miles before it dissipated while moving up the west side of Massanutten Mountain. The twister was estimated to be about 75 yards wide and it caused a total of $1.6 million in damage. Along the path of the tornado, three residential structures were destroyed, 12 structures were heavily damaged, and 15 had minor damage. Four poultry houses and 15 barns were destroyed. Five poultry houses, two silos, and a mile of fencing was also damaged. On Old Bridge Road, a silo and three barns were damaged. Airborne roof debris and high winds hit a tractor-trailer on I-81 and caused it to flip onto its side. The driver of the tractor-trailer was treated for minor injuries. The tornado moved across I-81 and Route 11 into the Kay Hill subdivision. Homes were damaged and trees were downed on Lower and Upper Forge Road. A mobile home on Mantz Drive was destroyed. The tornado moved east across Smith Creek to Smith Creek Road and Franwood Lane where it caused significant damage. A two-story home just off Smith Creek Road was severely damaged by debris from a neighbor's 60-foot-high grain silo. A woman inside the structure was treated for bruises. On Franwood Lane, two turkey houses were destroyed and four were severely damaged. One dog that lived on the property was killed and another was injured. A cat was never found. A shed was damaged and work equipment was scattered across the property. At Franwood Farms Airport, 5 people took shelter from the storm in a hangar. A person in the hangar said the walls kept coming closer together as the tornado approached and eventually the roof blew off the building. The tornado also flipped a plane on the landing strip. The tornado's path was visible up to two miles east of Franwood Farms through a path of damaged trees in the forest. The path of tree damage ended as the topography sloped up Massanutten Mountain into George Washington National Forest. In addition, an orchard west of Mt. Jackson just north of the tornado's path, sustained hail damage. In Rockingham County, dime sized hail fell in Bergton for ten minutes. In Page County, golf ball sized hail fell in Rileyville. Power lines were downed in Stanley. In Culpeper County, a tree was downed onto Route 522 near Route 633 in Norman. In Fauquier County, a funnel cloud was photographed by a meteorologist on a hill near Fauquier Springs. The time series of photos shows the funnel never reaching the ground. High winds downed a large tree and utility poles onto Harts Mill and Spriggs roads about 5 miles west of Warrenton. In New Baltimore, dime sized hail was reported. In Prince William County, quarter sized hail fell in Woodbridge and Manassas. Golf ball sized hail caused property damage in Dale City. A total of 2.20 inches of rain fell in Canova as the storm passed through.

Began near Quicksburg (38.6700, -78.6667).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5292446. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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