EF2 tornado in Charles City (c) County, Virginia

Tornado April 19, 2019 · Charles City (c) County, Virginia

EF2

Rating

3.1 mi

Path length

200 yd

Path width

$125K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 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

The National Service in Wakefield confirmed an EF2 tornado just northeast of Charles City. The tornado touched down just east of The Glebe Lane about 1.7 miles northeast of Charles City causing some trees to be uprooted and snapped along Ruthville Road. Soon after crossing Ruthville Road, the tornado intensified to an EF2, causing extensive damage to Charles City Rod and Gun Club. The roof of the building was lifted off and blown partially off. In addition, the south facing exterior wall was blown in. The tornado continued tracking northeast, crossing Old Elam Cemetery Road and then The Glebe Lane, causing extensive tree damage including snapped and uprooted trees consistent with EF1 damage. The tornado then weakened to an EF0, before lifting just northeast of Sturgeon Point Road.

The wider storm

Scattered severe thunderstorms in advance of low pressure and its associated cold front produced damaging winds and numerous tornadoes across portions of central and eastern Virginia.

Began near Ruthville (37.3600, -77.0500).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

11 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF2 Louisa County EF1 Sussex County EF1 Northampton County EF1 Southampton County EF0 Greensville County EF0 Brunswick County EF0 Emporia County EF0 Isle of Wight County EF0 York County EF0 Newport News (c) County EF0 Gloucester County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 821965. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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