F1 tornado, Woodridge, Virginia, May 22, 2001

1. F040 to 72 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. F173 to 112 mphthis tornado

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. F2113 to 157 mph

   Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

4. F3158 to 206 mph

   Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

5. F4207 to 260 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. F5261 to 318 mph

   Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

7. Unrated

   The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Rating

F1

Date

May 22, 2001

Touchdown

5:45 PM EDT (21:45 UTC)

Path length

2.5 miles (4.0 km)

Path width

75 yards (69 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$10,000

County

Albemarle County

Touchdown point

37.920, -78.420

Lift-off point

37.930, -78.400

Record number

805

Thunderstorms that produced wind gusts in excess of 55 MPH, large hail, heavy downpours, frequent lightning, and isolated tornadoes crossed the area during the afternoon and early evening hours of the 22nd. In Augusta County and in the city of Waynesboro, trees were felled by high winds. Trees and power lines were downed in Staunton. A total of 1.60 inches of rain was reported in Waynesboro. In Nelson County, a wind gust of 71 MPH was recorded near Lovingston. In Albemarle County, a tornado touched down 2 miles northeast of Woodridge near the intersection of Buck Island Road and Martin Kings Road, traveled northeast for 2.5 miles, then dissipated near Route 53. The tornado was 75 yards wide and was ranked as an F1. Several trees were damaged. Some houses in the path of the tornado had siding and shingles torn off and another home had a deck rail torn off. Across the rest of the county, including the town of Afton and the city of Charlottesville, straight line winds downed trees and power lines. In Greene County, trees were downed in Ruckersville. In Orange County, trees and power lines were downed in the town of Orange where 1.65 inches of rain was reported. Hail of unknown size also fell across the county. In Spotsylvania County, trees were downed in Partlow, Brokenburg, Thornburg, and across Interstate 95 near the Caroline County border. A wind gust of 60 MPH was reported at Route 3 near the town of Spotsylvania. Heavy downpours flooded Courthouse Road near Hilltop Plaza. Lightning struck a business in Thornburg, burning a hole in the roof. In Stafford County, trees were downed in the town of Stafford. In King George County, trees were downed in the town of King George and elsewhere across the county. In Fauquier County, trees were downed in Warrenton. In Prince William County, an F0 tornado touched down briefly in Dale City. It was on the ground for one mile and was 50 yards wide. A spotter and a county official sited the tornado and reported damage to trees and power lines in the path of the twister. Golfball sized hail preceded the tornado. Across the rest of the county, high winds reportedly downed additional trees and power lines. In the city of Manassas, a wind gust of 64 MPH was recorded. Heavy downpours flooded streets and some basements. Route 1 was also temporarily flooded when Neabisco Creek overflowed its banks. Some county roads including Route 234 were also flooded. Lightning strikes damaged two homes in Dale City. A lightning fire at a home in the town of Prince William displaced a family and resulted in $50,000 damage.In Loudoun County, heavy downpours dropped 2.09 inches of rain in Middleburg, 1.93 inches at Dulles International Airport and 1.78 inches in Leesburg. In Fairfax County, trees and power lines were downed in Lorton along Route 1. A funnel cloud was sited nearby. In Centreville, nickel sized hail fell and winds of 50 MPH were estimated. Flooding was reported on roads in Annandale, McLean, Reston, and along Route 1 in Mt. Vernon. Rainfall totals included 2.17 inches in Oak Hill, 1.94 inches in Reston, 1.92 inches in Mt. Vernon, 1.63 inches in Centreville, and 1.57 inches in Herndon where winds gusted to 41 MPH. In Arlington County, trees and power lines were downed. A total of 1.60 inches of rain was reported and a few basements were flooded. In Alexandria, trees and power lines were downed.

Trees were downed and homes were damaged.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Moderate Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 19:47 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Charlottesville (CHO), 24 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 142 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:43 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2001 tornado in VirginiaEvery tornado in Virginia since 1950Warnings in force in Virginia nowThe forecast where you are

4 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.