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EF1 tornado in Wise County, Virginia

Tornado March 4, 2008 · Wise County, Virginia

EF1

Rating

1.0 mi

Path length

300 yd

Path width

Injuries

$1.8M

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

NOAA recorded where this tornado touched down but not where it lifted, so it appears as a point. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 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 struck Big Stone Gap destroying six homes and producing major damage to fifteen homes and minor damage to twenty five homes. Two minor injuries were reported. Also, numerous large diameter trees were reported down.

The wider storm

Strong low pressure system moved northeast from Middle Tennessee into Southeast Kentucky with line of thunderstorms developing just ahead of front. Instability was low so convection was low topped. Most of the wind damage in this event was straight line in character. However, closer to surface low, the environment was more conducive to the development of rotating storms and an EF1 tornado touched down at Big Stone Gap in Southwest Virginia.

Began near Big Stone Gap (36.8600, -82.7800).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 74420. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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