TornadoLookup

Home / Virginia / Southampton

EF2 tornado in Southampton County, Virginia

Tornado August 4, 2020 · Southampton County, Virginia

EF2
Rating
15.9 mi
Path length
200 yd
Path width
$8.0M
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

A damage survey conducted by the NWS Wakefield office found a path of storm damage consistent with an EF2 tornado. The damage began near the Southampton Power Station off General Thomas Highway and ended 4 miles north of Sebrell near Farmers Bridge Road. The tornado first touched down in a wooded area and caused numerous trees to be snapped about 6 miles southeast of Courtland. The tornado then moved northeast and into Courtland, where it caused damage to numerous homes and businesses along Highway 58, including lifting the second story roof off a hotel building. Several vehicles were also overturned. The tornado then continued to travel northeast where more trees were snapped or uprooted. The tornado finally lifted just north of Sebrell near Farmers Bridge Road.

The wider storm

The center of Tropical Storm Isaias tracked north just inland of the Middle Atlantic Coast from late Monday night, August 3rd through Tuesday morning, August 4th. Outer bands north and east of the Tropical Storm produced seven tornadoes across portions of eastern and southeast Virginia.

Began near Delaware (36.6450, -76.9900).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 913536. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.