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F0 tornado in Loudoun County, Virginia

Tornado May 25, 2004 · Loudoun County, Virginia

F0
Rating
0.5 mi
Path length
50 yd
Path width
$1K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F0 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F0 meant light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken; the scale paired it with winds of 40–72 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 very weak tornado damaged a few trees near Lovettsville. Eye witnesses reported golf ball size hail covering the ground as this storm moved across the area. Overall damage from the tornado was minimal.

The wider storm

Strong thunderstorms produced widespread wind damage across Northern Virginia on May 25th. One thunderstorm spawned a tornado in Northern Loudoun County, near Lovettsville. The weak tornado topped trees, shredded leaves and spread debris along a two mile track. Straight-line winds downed trees and power lines area wide. At the height of the storms thousands were without power. Some areas were pelted with nickel to half dollar size hail, which dented cars and damaged gardens. Several minor automobile accidents were reported to the 911 Center.

Began near Lovettsville (39.2833, -77.6500).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5396441. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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