F1 tornado, Orange, Virginia, June 6, 2002

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

June 6, 2002

Touchdown

5:45 PM EDT (21:45 UTC)

Path length

1.0 miles (1.6 km)

Path width

100 yards (91 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$10,000

County

Orange County

Touchdown point

38.270, -78.100

Lift-off point

38.250, -78.080

Record number

157

Scattered thunderstorms with damaging wind gusts moved through the North Piedmont, the central foothills, and Northern Virginia during the afternoon and evening hours on the 6th. In Orange County, a weak F1 tornado touched down one mile northeast of the town of Orange. It uprooted trees and damaged a garage along its rural path. The tornado traveled approximately one mile to the east-southeast before lifting near Route 20 east of Orange. The tornado was 100 yards wide and was on the ground for one mile. Additional wind damage in and around the town of Orange including downed trees and power lines was caused by straight line winds. In Locust Grove, a convenience store lost its tin roof after high winds blew through. In the Lake of the Woods community, a downburst of winds estimated at 70 MPH caused at least one hundred trees and some power lines to be blown over. One man was injured when the roof of his house on Monticello Circle collapsed when a tree fell onto it. A total of 6 homes and a handful of cars in the community were damaged by fallen trees. Trees were also downed onto Route 20. In Barboursville, a chimney was blown over by high winds. In Spotsylvania County, a man was injured when high winds pushed three trees onto his car on Hill-Ewell Drive about 2 miles south of Wilderness. He survived by ducking under the dashboard before the trees hit the pickup. Hill-Ewell Drive remained closed for several days due to nearly 100 downed trees. Numerous trees were also downed in the Lake Wilderness community. Twelve homes in the community were damaged by felled trees, including one which sustained $40,000 damage. Portions of the nearby Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania National Military Park were closed for two weeks due to the amount of felled trees. Removal of debris was estimated to cost $60,000. In Culpeper County, quarter sized hail fell in Richardsville and dime sized hail was reported in Culpeper. Funnel clouds were also reported near Eggbornsville, Cherry Hill, and Elkwood. In Fairfax County, quarter sized hail fell in Pohick Bay. In Chantilly power lines were downed. In Stafford County, golf ball sized hail was reported near the Prince William County line. In Prince William County, a wind gust of 54 MPH was recorded at the Manassas Airport. The southern portion of the county received pea to golf ball sized hail. In Fauquier County, trees were downed. In Augusta County, trees were downed in Fishersville, Crimora, and at the intersection of Route 250 and Interstate 81. A twin silo was blown over near Fishersville. In Hermitage, part of a barn roof was removed on Hildebrand Church Road. Trees were uprooted onto a garage and car near Route 254. In Waynesboro, 7 trees were downed onto property along Cattle Scales Road. In Madison County, trees downed countywide. In Albemarle County, trees were downed on the western portion of Charlottesville. One person was injured when a tree fell on a car on Old Ivy Road. Another tree fell onto a car on Sherwood Road, seriously injuring two people. Park Street was blocked by downed trees and power lines. In Greene County, trees and power lines were downed. In Frederick County, a tree was downed onto a home in Winchester. In Loudoun County, trees and power lines were downed on the west side of Leesburg. A wind gust of 54 MPH was recorded at the Leesburg Airport. In Clarke County, there was scattered damage from fallen trees. Near Berryville on Bishop Meade Road, a large tree fell onto a van. On Senseny Road, a tree limb fell onto power lines.

A tornado downed trees and power lines and caused minor roof damage east of Orange.

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

0 minutes of warning. NWS LWX issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:45 UTC, 0 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 22:30 UTC.

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 Slight Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 19:28 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.

Orange/Orange Co (OMH), 4 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 95 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:47 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 2002 tornado in VirginiaEvery tornado in Virginia since 1950Warnings in force in Virginia nowThe forecast where you are

1 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.