Tornado in Virginia, September 10, 1997

Name: Tornado in Virginia, September 10, 1997
Start: 1997-09-10T03:15
End: 1997-09-10T03:15
Location: Virginia

September 10, 1997 · NWS AKQ · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 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: 0
Property damage: $150,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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.

The radar

The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 111 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 08:16 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Northumberland

When: September 10, 3:15 AM EST
Where: Northumberland County, 3 mi E of Wicomico Church
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.3 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $150,000
Coordinates: 37.820, -76.330

Tornado damaged 5 homes, with a large porch on one home and a garage/breezeway on another home completely destroyed. Damage to 2 other homes primarily incidental, and caused by flying debris. The fifth home sustained siding and substantial roof damage. Several boats were damaged/overturned at local marina. One row boat near initial damage area lifted up and tossed 300-400 yards from its tied-down position. Several other items were thrown distances of several hundred yards. Two cars were damaged, one severely. Several trees were severely damaged, one tree was uprooted by an airborne boat. There were no injuries or fatalities.

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 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Virginia, 1997 Warnings in Virginia, September 1997

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: 5620937.