EF1 tornado in Patrick County, Virginia

This tornado occurred in the Ararat area of Patrick County. The tornado touched down near the end of epperson lane and continued across Ararat Highway where about a half-dozen homes had minor roof damage. The tornado proceeded across pond road where a mobile home was blown off its foundation and further tree damage occurred.

The tornado was on the ground for less than 2 miles but at its peak was half a mile wide. Patrick County Emergency Management said that a total of 22 homes were damaged and one completely destroyed. Several outbuildings and hundreds of trees were blown down by the storm. No injuries were reported.

A strong surface low was located over Western TN in the morning. A wedge was in place over the region and expected to be eroded by a strong low level jet. Bulk shear of 60 knots and storm-relative Helicity in the 400-600 m**2/s**2 range provided the dynamics for this severe event. With this shear in place, thunderstorms developed mainly east of the Blue Ridge, but some were also seen in the New and Roanoke River Valleys. Reports of thunderstorm wind damage and large hail came in from multiple counties across Virginia and North Carolina. Also, two tornados (including a historic EF-3 in Appomattox County) occurred. This was the first EF-3 tornado in the month of February ever recorded in the NWS Blacksburg forecast area.