EF2 tornado in Virginia Beach (c) County, Virginia

Tornado March 31, 2017 · Virginia Beach (c) County, Virginia

EF2

Rating

8.9 mi

Whole path

350 yd

Path width

$7.9M

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Chesapeake (c) County → Virginia Beach (c) County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 350 yards (0.20 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

Tornado tracked from Chesapeake northeast into Virginia Beach. The tornado emerged from Stumpy Lake along Elbow Road as an EF0 causing some significant damage to siding and shingles to homes just north of Elbow Road. The tornado crossed Round Hill Drive, and then Elbow Road itself as it re-intensified to an EF1. The tornado crossed Elbow Road as an EF1 causing significant damage to oak trees which fell trapping a car under numerous trees. There were no injuries. The tornado continued as a weak EF1 to Salem Road (and Elbow Road) causing some significant roof damage to homes in the area. The tornado then briefly weakened as it moved northeast causing light damage to siding and shingles along Starwood Arch, Antelope Place, Salem Lake Boulevard and Morning View Drive. The tornado intensified once again as it crossed Centennial Circle damaging homes along Daiquiri Lane and Darrow Street. By the time the tornado crossed Rock Lake Loop, it had intensified back to EF1 intensity causing some severe roof damage to homes from Rip Rap Court to River Rock Arch. This is where the tornado reached its widest point, up to 350 yards wide, causing damage to around 100 homes in this area alone. Several homes in this area were damaged beyond repair as winds reached to 110 mph (high end EF1). The tornado continued northeast destroying the club house and press box at the Landstown High School ball field. Several sets of bleachers were tossed well over 200 yards. The tornado weakened as it crossed Princess Anne Road and Tidewater Community College. The tornado moved across Rosemont Drive as an EF0 damaging numerous homes along Light Horse Loop and Storm Bird Loop. The last visible damage from the tornado was across Buckner Boulevard near the east end of Purebread Drive. The tornado was off the ground by the time the storm reached Holland Road.

The wider storm

Scattered severe thunderstorms in advance of low pressure and a cold front produced damaging winds, large hail, and two tornadoes across portions of southeast Virginia.

Began near Woods Corner (36.7568, -76.1486).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF1 Suffolk (c) County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 686664. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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