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F2 tornado in Fairfax County, Virginia

Tornado September 17, 2004 · Fairfax County, Virginia

Rating

8.8 mi

Whole path

150 yd

Path width

Injury

$2.5M

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Prince William County → Fairfax County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 150 yards (0.09 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 entered western Fairfax County from Prince William County. The storm had a path of about 7 miles. Beginning on Old Centerville Road, the storm produced scattered tree damage along its path and minor roofing damage to structures in the London Town Area. A line of damage was carved from Lee Highway northward into the Centerville and Chantilly areas.The tornado destroyed one estate and damaged about 50 other dwellings. The storm was also responsible for downed trees and power lines. The tornado lifted as it crossed Route 50.

Began near Centreville (38.8000, -77.4333).

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 5425471. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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