April 28th EF-1 Virgilina Tornado

Photos of the damage in Virgilina

Low pressure moved from western Virginia into the Mid-Atlantic during the day on April 28th. A trailing cold front moved east across the region by late afternoon. Ahead of this feature, modest low level moisture remained in place with surface dew points in the lower to mid 60s, and a strong mid level jet that was rotating northward into Pennsylvania and New York.. Strong shear was supportive of organized thunderstorms, especially across southeast Virginia.

Radar images of the tornado producing cell. Figure 1 shows the small thunderstorm over Virgilina at 110 pm, as seen from the NWS Blacksburg radar, located in Floyd County, VA. Figure 2 depicts the tornado producing cell at 112 pm in Virgilina.

Figure 3 is the map of the tornado track and damage.

A summary of our survey of the damage

Storm damage in Halifax county Virginia caused by EF-1 tornado. A National Weather Service storm survey found that storm damage that occurred in Halifax county Virginia in the town of Virgilina Monday afternoon was caused by an EF-1 tornado. Winds in the storm were estimated to be between 86 and 109 mph. The storm was on the ground from approximately 110 to 115 pm. The initial damage started just south and west of the intersections of highways 96 and 49. This is on the western edge of the town of Virgilina. The tornado was on the ground for approximately one mile traveling to the northeast. Sporadic damage occurred further northeast on Gills Mountain Road from straight line winds. At the widest point...the tornado was 240 yards wide. 6 homes were damaged...and numerous large trees were downed and snapped. The National Weather Service wants to extend it thanks to the Virginia Division of Emergency Management...and Halifax County Emergency Management for their assistance in the storm survey.