...TORNADO CONFIRMED EAST OF KONNAROCK IN SMYTH COUNTY VIRGINIA ON APRIL 28...

LOCATION...KONNAROCK IN SMYTH COUNTY VIRGINIA
DATE...04/28/11 
ESTIMATED TIME...12:13 AM EDT 
MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF1 
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...100 MPH 
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...300 YARDS 
PATH LENGTH...0.45 MILES
BEGINNING LAT/LON...36.684N / 81.541W 
ENDING LAT/LON...36.689N / 81.537W
* FATALITIES...0
* INJURIES...0

* THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO
CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT(S) AND PUBLICATION IN NWS
STORM DATA.

...SUMMARY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG VA HAS CONFIRMED A
TORNADO NEAR KONNAROCK IN SMYTH COUNTY VIRGINIA ON 04/28/11.

AREAL PHOTOS FROM THE MEDIA LAST WEEK AS WELL AS A GROUND SURVEY
BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TODAY HAS CONFIRMED A BRIEF
TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN THE MOUNT ROGERS NATIONAL RECREATION
AREA...MAINLY CUTTING THROUGH THE GRINDSTONE CAMPGROUND. AT LEAST
200 TREES WERE UPROOTED OR SNAPPED AT THE TRUNK...AND A BATH HOUSE
WAS DAMAGED AS WELL. A FEW PEOPLE WERE CAMPING AT THE
TIME...SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT EARLY THURSDAY MORNING APRIL
28...BUT NO ONE WAS INJURED OR KILLED. THERE WAS NO DAMAGE TO ANY
VEHICLES EITHER. MANY OF THE TREES IN THE FAIRLY WIDE SWATH HAD
FALLEN TOWARD THE NORTH AND DOWNSLOPE....WITH THE STORM TRAVELING TO THE
NORTHEAST...WHILE SOME ON THE LEFT EDGE OF THE PATH HAD FALLEN
TOWARD THE EAST AND ON TOP OF THE OTHER TREES...AND SOME TREES ON
THE RIGHT EDGE NEAR THE END OF THE PATH ALONG EITHER SIDE OF ROUTE
603 HAD FALLEN TOWARD THE WEST. THE DAMAGE ENDED A FEW HUNDRED
FEET ON THE NORTH SIDE OF ROUTE 603 (LAUREL VALLEY ROAD).

AS FAR AS WE CAN TELL...THERE WAS NO OTHER TORNADIC DAMAGE
UPSTREAM ON THE NORTH SLOPE OF MOUNT ROGERS...EXCEPT FOR A VERY
SMALL AREA OF DOWNED TREES JUST OFF ROUTE 600 BETWEEN KONNAROCK AND
ELK GARDEN AT ABOUT 4,000 FEET ELEVATION. THIS APPEARED TO BE
STRAIGHT LINE WINDS IN THIS LOCATION...AND WAS LIKELY FROM THE SAME
STORM THAT PRODUCED THE TORNADIC DAMAGE AT GRINDSTONE.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WOULD LIKE TO THANK BETH MERZ FROM
THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE...JIM BARKER RETIRED FOREST SERVICE AND
SKYWARN SPOTTER...AND DAN KEGLEY OF THE SMYTH COUNTY NEWS AND
MESSENGER...FOR THEIR INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE IN COMPLETING
THIS SURVEY.

THIS PRODUCT CAN ALSO BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE AT WEATHER.GOV/RNK...
AND OUR APRIL 27-28 2011 EVENT REVIEW PAGE WILL ALSO BE UPDATED
SOON WITH THIS INFORMATION.

FOR REFERENCE...THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES INTO
THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:

EF0...WIND SPEEDS 65 TO 85 MPH.
EF1...WIND SPEEDS 86 TO 110 MPH.
EF2...WIND SPEEDS 111 TO 135 MPH.
EF3...WIND SPEEDS 136 TO 165 MPH.
EF4...WIND SPEEDS 166 TO 200 MPH.
EF5...WIND SPEEDS GREATER THAN 200 MPH.