Tornadoes in Virginia, September 5, 1979

Name: Tornadoes in Virginia, September 5, 1979
Start: 1979-09-05T15:00
End: 1979-09-05T17:45
Location: Virginia

September 5, 1979 · 8 events in 7 counties and zones

8 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

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The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 19
Property damage: $6.0 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 8

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

8 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Newport News (C)

When: September 5, 3:00 PM CST
Where: Newport News (C) County
Rating: F3
Path length: 2.5 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 36.980, -76.420

Tornado, Hampton (C)

When: September 5, 3:20 PM CST
Where: Hampton (C) County
Rating: F2
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Injuries: 9 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 37.020, -76.350

Tornado, Gloucester

When: September 5, 3:30 PM CST
Where: Gloucester County
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 20 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 37.230, -76.480

Tornado, Stafford

When: September 5, 4:15 PM CST
Where: Stafford County
Rating: F1
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 38.380, -77.420

Tornado, King George

When: September 5, 4:15 PM CST
Where: King George County
Rating: F2
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 40 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 38.330, -77.050

Tornado, Fairfax

When: September 5, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Fairfax County
Rating: F3
Path length: 17.9 mi
Path width: 300 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 6 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 38.780, -77.080

Tornado, Loudoun

When: September 5, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Loudoun County
Rating: F2
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 39.100, -77.530

Tornado, Loudoun

When: September 5, 5:45 PM CST
Where: Loudoun County
Rating: F2
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 39.130, -77.500

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tornado, Fairfax	1979-09-05				Direct

What these are

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 1979 Every state in 1979 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Virginia, 1979

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: 10153244, 10153245, 10153246, 10153247, 10153248, 10153249, 10153250, 10153251.