F3 tornado in Hanover County, Virginia
Tornado April 1, 1998 · Hanover County, Virginia
F3
Rating
9.0 mi
Whole path
400 yd
Path width
2
Deaths
1
Injury
$1.0M
Damage as recorded
NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Hanover County → Caroline County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated
The path drawn at its surveyed width of 400 yards (0.23 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.
What F3 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F3 meant severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned; the scale paired it with winds of 158–206 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.
Began near Coatesville (37.8800, -77.6200).
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5649784. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.
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