F2 tornado in Prince William County, Virginia

Tornado September 17, 2004 · Prince William County, Virginia

Rating

4.0 mi

Path length

250 yd

Path width

$1.0M

Damage as recorded

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 250 yards (0.14 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 tornadic thunderstorm moved through central Prince William County. This is the same storm that produced damage earlier in Stafford County. The initial touchdown in Prince William County was west of Dale City, near Independent Hill and Dumfries Road. The storm snapped or uprooted many large hardwood trees. Some of the trees fell on houses and other structures. The storm lifted and then reformed for the second touchdown in Manassas. Several homes suffered roof and shingle damage. An automobile was moved several feet. Damaged also occurred in Manassas Park and in Yorkshire Village. This tornado continued north into Fairfax County.

Began near Dale City (38.6000, -77.4167).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5425420. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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