Tornadoes and Hail in Virginia, April 1, 1973

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Virginia, April 1, 1973
Start: 1973-04-01T14:40
End: 1973-04-01T14:56
Location: Virginia

April 1, 1973 · 5 events in 4 counties and zones

3 hail, 2 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 37
Property damage: $25 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

3 hail, 2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Fairfax

When: April 1, 2:40 PM CST
Where: Fairfax County
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Coordinates: 38.970, -77.180

Tornado, Fairfax

When: April 1, 2:45 PM CST
Where: Fairfax County
Rating: F3
Path length: 7.1 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Injuries: 37 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 38.800, -77.330

Tornado, Fauquier

When: April 1, 2:45 PM CST
Where: Fauquier County
Rating: F3
Path length: 2.7 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 38.850, -77.220

Hail, Roanoke

When: April 1, 2:47 PM CST
Where: Roanoke County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 37.320, -80.030

Hail, Loudoun

When: April 1, 2:56 PM CST
Where: Loudoun County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 39.050, -77.450

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Virginia in 1973 Every state in 1973 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Virginia, 1973

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10149867, 10149868, 10149869, 10149870, 10149871.