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EF2 tornado in Lancaster County, Virginia

Tornado August 4, 2020 · Lancaster County, Virginia

EF2
Rating
15.6 mi
Whole path
500 yd
Path width
5
Injuries
$3.0M
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Lancaster County → Northumberland County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 500 yards (0.28 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 tornado touched down near Windmill Point Lane then rapidly intensified as it crossed over Antipoison Creek. Numerous houses in the Antipoison Neck area along Tammy Drive, Clark Point Drive, Deep Water Drive, Wayne Circle, Chesapeake Trail, and others experienced significant roof loss and structural damage consistent with EF2 intensity. One house had the upper portions shifted off the main structure. Similar roof and structural damage continued as the tornado moved north into areas near Ocran Road, Squires Road and Bald Eagle Road in the Poplar Neck area. This is also where the tornado was at its widest point of 500 yards. The tornado then continued northward to Fleets Bay Road where additional roof loss consistent with EF2 intensity occurred. After this point, the tornado likely weakened to an EF1 as it crossed Boys Camp Road, Waverly Avenue and East Church Street in Kilmarnock. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped in this area, with some siding and roof damage. The tornado then continued north northwest across Carlson Road and Mount Olive Road where more downed trees were observed, along with some roof and siding damage to houses. The tornado then tracked from Lancaster county into Northumberland county.

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 Palmer (37.6274, -76.3358).

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 913631. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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