EF0 tornado in Fauquier County, Virginia

The National Weather Service in Baltimore MD/Washington DC has

confirmed a tornado southwest of Warrenton in Fauquier County

Virginia on April 6, 2017.

An extensive area of tree damage was noted along a several mile long

path in west-central Fauquier County. Embedded within this straight-

line wind damage was a small concentrated area of convergent tree

damage consistent with an EF-0 tornado.

A row of trees just north of Harts Mill Road was blown down towards

the west-northwest, while several other trees just south of the road

were snapped and fell towards the northeast. A similar pattern of tree

damage was found at a residence on Woodbourne Lane a quarter mile to

the northeast, where several dozen hardwood trees were uprooted, mainly

falling towards the east but a couple fell towards the west.

Further southwest and to the northeast of the tornadic damage,

hardwood and softwood trees were snapped and uprooted but all falling

to the northeast over a nearly mile-wide swath, indicating straight-line

wind damage. It is notable that the straight-line wind damage was more

severe than that caused by the brief tornado.

The National Weather Service would like to thank the Fauquier County

Emergency Management Agency and the residents interviewed for their

assistance in this survey.

Cutoff low pressure was over the Ohio Valley. Another area of low pressure strengthened overhead on the occluded boundary. Warm and moist air from the south lead to an unstable atmosphere. Strong shear profiles were in place due to the cutoff low to the west. Strong lift associated with the developing low combined with strong shear and enough instability to produce severe thunderstorms and isolated tornadoes.