F0 tornado, Reva, Virginia, July 10, 2003

1. F040 to 72 mphthis tornado

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

2. F173 to 112 mph

   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

F0

Date

July 10, 2003

Touchdown

6:51 PM EDT (22:51 UTC)

Path length

7.0 miles (11.3 km)

Path width

40 yards (37 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Culpeper County

Touchdown point

38.500, -78.130

Lift-off point

38.530, -78.000

Record number

147

Thunderstorms with high winds, very frequent lightning, hail, heavy downpours, and isolated tornadoes moved through Northeast Virginia during the evening of the 10th. In Orange County, small stream flooding was reported along routes 614, 601, and 608 in the northeast portion of the county near Lake of the Woods. In Culpeper County, an F0 tornado touched down near Riva. The tornado pushed northeast and left an intermittent path of tree damage until it lifted near Route 229 about 3 miles north of Culpeper. The tornado was on the ground for 7 miles and was estimated to be about 40 yards wide. The storm also produced a funnel cloud as it passed near the Culpeper Regional Airport just north of Elkwood. Up to 3 inches of rain caused minor flooding across a portion of the county. In Fauquier County, penny sized hail fell in Warrenton. A tree was downed onto Route 603 east of Warrenton. Roads were flooded and a few were washed out in Remington and Bealeton. In Prince William County, trees were downed and nickel sized hail fell in Manassas. Pea sized hail fell in Manassas Park. In Fairfax County, up to 2.5 inches of rainfall caused secondary roads to flood. Small hail fell in Falls Church and McLean. Trees and power lines were downed between Annandale and Springfield, including one tree which fell onto Hooes Road. A few trees were downed onto Compton Road in Centreville. In Arlington County, a few trees were downed in North Arlington. In Stafford County, an F0 tornado touched down about 5 miles southeast of Falmouth near Route 3. The tornado moved northeast and damaged trees until it lifted near Route 218 on the King George County line. The tornado was about 50 yards wide and was on the ground for 5 miles. In Falmouth, lightning struck a car on Butler Road. Two people inside the vehicle were unharmed. A portion of southbound interstate 95 was flooded by heavy downpours. High water was also reported on Harrell Road, at the intersection of Deacon and Synan roads, and on Route 218 near White Oak. In Spotsylvania County, trees were downed in Chancellorsville. In Fourmile Fork, lightning downed a power pole onto a car lot. One car was set on fire. In addition, a townhouse at the intersection of Fall Hill Avenue and River Road was set ablaze by lightning. In Fredericksburg, an apartment building was struck by lightning. Also, two homes in Normandy Village on Woodford Street caught fire after being hit by lightning. Lightning also damaged asphalt on William Street at Sunken Road. Cowan Boulevard was closed by flooding. In King George County, two tornado tracks were found. The first tornado, and F1, touched down near Route 600 where it crosses the Stafford County line. It stayed on the ground until it hit Fairview Beach, 4 miles to the east. Trees were downed during the rural portion of its track. However, moderate damage was done in Fairview Beach when the twister downed large trees onto 7 trailer homes and 2 houses. Six structures were condemned. The hardest hit areas included Botts Lane in the Fairview Beach Trailer Park and First Street. A second tornado touched down briefly near Hampstead. The weak F0 twister stayed on the ground only 1/10 of a mile. It downed a few trees along its short 50 yard wide path. In addition, high winds from the thunderstorm downed trees and power lines between Arnolds Corner and King George. The dispatch center in King George was also hit by lightning.

A tornado touched down in Reva and left intermittent tree damage until it lifted just north of Culpeper.

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

55 minutes of warning. NWS LWX issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:56 UTC, 55 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:00 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 19:50 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.

Culpeper (CJR), 18 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 72 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:50 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 2003 tornado in VirginiaEvery tornado in Virginia since 1950Warnings in force in Virginia nowThe forecast where you are

7 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.