Tornadoes · United States · Virginia

2006 tornadoes in Virginia

16 tornadoes touched down in Virginia in 2006, 45 percent above the average of the record for the state. None of them killed anybody.

2005 2007 The whole country in 2006

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  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 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.

Every tornado in Virginia in 2006

January 11 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
January 115:20 PM ESTF1Sussex3.5200$20,000
January 116:23 PM ESTF1James City0.8252$20,000

January 14 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
January 142:15 AM ESTF0King and Queen0.350$10,000

February 4 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
February 43:05 PM ESTF1Pittsylvania2.02001$90,000
February 43:08 PM ESTF0Pittsylvania0.120$2,000

April 25 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 256:25 PM EDTF0Scott1.525$50,000

May 11 5 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 115:05 PM EDTF0Louisa1.030$10,000
May 115:35 PM EDTF0Spotsylvania5.075$80,000
May 115:58 PM EDTF0Spotsylvania1.050$40,000
May 116:15 PM EDTF0Stafford0.450$30,000
May 116:55 PM EDTF1Henrico0.3200$10,000

May 26 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 265:15 PM EDTF0Pittsylvania0.125$10,000

August 11 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 113:10 PM EDTF0City of Portsmouth0.325
August 113:30 PM EDTF0City of Hampton0.325

September 28 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 285:40 PM EDTF1Nottoway3.5100$30,000
September 288:35 PM EDTF1King and Queen2.0100$30,000

Nearby

Every tornado in Virginia since 1950Warnings in force in VirginiaThe live radar over Virginia

What this means

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.

Sources

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