Tornadoes · United States · Virginia · 2008

EF1 tornado, Claremont, Virginia, April 28, 2008

This EF1 tornado ran 0.3 miles across Surry County on April 28, 2008, touching down at 4:18 PM EDT and reaching 30 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $74,000 of property damage.

The rating scale

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

  1. EF065 to 85 mph

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado

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

  3. EF2111 to 135 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. EF3136 to 165 mph

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

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

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

  6. EF5over 200 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.

The record

Rating
EF1
Date
April 28, 2008
Touchdown
4:18 PM EDT (20:18 UTC)
Lifted
4:22 PM EDT (20:22 UTC)
On the ground
4 minutes
Path length
0.3 miles (0.5 km)
Path width
30 yards (27 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$74,000
County
Surry County
Touchdown point
37.218, -76.972
Lift-off point
37.225, -76.950
Record number
0804281418-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Severe thunderstorms in advance of a cold front produced numerous tornadoes across central and eastern Virginia.

A brief tornado touched down in northwest Surry county near Claremont. A double wide home was destroyed, and numerous trees were downed or snapped off.

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

The warnings

18 minutes of warning. NWS AKQ issued a tornado warning for this county at 20:00 UTC, 18 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 20:30 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 19:16 UTC and running to 21:55 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
19:16 UTC21:55 UTCTornado WatchAKQ
20:00 UTC20:30 UTCTornado WarningAKQ
20:17 UTC20:30 UTCTornado WarningAKQ

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 forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:33 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 air that afternoon

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.

Wallops Is Stn, VA (KWAL), 12:00Z

8.3 hours before the tornado, 159 km from the path. April 28, 2008.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Wallops Is Stn, VA at 12:00Z on 2008-04-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 14 joules per kilogram, CIN -59, lifted condensation level 544 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Wallops Is Stn, VA at 12:00Z on 2008-04-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 151 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 37 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
14 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-59 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
544 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
151 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
156 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Wallops Is Stn, VA (KWAL), 00:00Z

3.7 hours after it, 159 km from the path. April 29, 2008.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Wallops Is Stn, VA at 00:00Z on 2008-04-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -24221, lifted condensation level 579 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Wallops Is Stn, VA at 00:00Z on 2008-04-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 37 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 47 knots.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-24221 J/kg
Surface CAPE
10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
579 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
37 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
72 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Williamsburg (JGG), 22 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
18:20 UTC69.864.4190° 9 kt201007.8
18:40 UTC69.864.4190° 8 kt151007.8
19:00 UTC69.864.4190° 8 kt151007.5
19:20 UTC69.864.4180° 8 kt151006.8
19:40 UTC69.864.4180° 7 kt141006.4
20:00 UTC69.864.4170° 7 kt1006.1
20:20 UTC69.864.4160° 7 kt1005.4
20:40 UTC69.866.2230° 20 kt291006.1
21:00 UTC64.462.6230° 7 kt171006.4
21:20 UTC64.462.6280° 8 kt1006.4
21:40 UTC62.660.8310° 5 kt1006.8
22:00 UTC60.860.8320° 4 kt1007.1

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

The radar

The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 27 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 20:16 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.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
19:21 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 E SutherlandDinwiddie, VATREES DOWN ON OLGERS RD.
19:35 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Nnw Stony CreekSussex, VATREES DOWN AT CONCORD AND PALESTINE RDS. NEAR RAILROAD BRIDGE ROAD.
19:40 UTCTORNADO 11 E Colonial HeightsChesterfield, VATORNADO REPORTED OFF TEMPLE AVE IN COLONIAL HEIGHTS FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES. REPORTS OF DAMAGE INCLUDING OVERTURNED CARS AT BEST BUY NEAR SOUTHPARK MALL. DAMAGE WAS RATED EF-1.
19:40 UTCTORNADO 1E Colonial HeightsCity of Colonial H, VATORNADO REPORTED OFF TEMPLE AVE IN COLONIAL HEIGHTS FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES. REPORTS OF DAMAGE INCLUDING OVERTURNED CARS AT BEST BUY NEAR SOUTHPARK MALL. DAMAGE WAS RATED EF-1.
19:40 UTCTORNADO1 E Colonial HeightsChesterfield, VATORNADO REPORTED OFF TEMPLE AVE IN COLONIAL HEIGHTS FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES.
19:44 UTCTORNADO3 Se Colonial HeightsCity of Petersburg, VATORNADO DAMAGE REPORTED AT INTERSECTION OF PUDDLEDOCK AND TEMPLE AVE.
20:13 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 S ClaremontSurry, VAPOTENTIAL TORNADO DAMAGE IN NORTHERN SURRY COUNTY. DOUBLE WIDE HOME DESTROYED. TREE DOWN.
20:18 UTCTORNADO 11 S ClaremontSurry, VADOUBLE WIDE HOME DESTROYED. NUMEROUS TREES DOWN OR SNAPPED OFF. DAMAGE WAS RATED AS EF-1.
20:34 UTCTORNADO5 Nw JamestownJames City, VATREES DOWN...SOME STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO HOMES. POSSIBLE TORNADO. DAMAGE EXTENDED FROM BRICK BAT ROAD NORTHEAST TO NEAR RT 60.
20:45 UTCTORNADO 11 Wsw CarrsvilleIsle of Wight, VACONFIRMED EF-1 DAMAGE ON SOUTHSIDE OF CARRSVILLE...WITH DAMAGE TO ELEVEN HOMES AND SIX AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS ALONG HARVEST DRIVE AND ELEYS LANE.
20:45 UTCTORNADO 12 Ne CarrsvilleIsle of Wight, VACONFIRMED EF-1 DAMAGE ON SOUTHSIDE OF CARRSVILLE...WITH DAMAGE TO ELEVEN HOMES AND SIX AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS ALONG HARVEST DRIVE AND ELEYS LANE.
20:45 UTCTORNADOCarrsvilleIsle of Wight, VATORNADO WITNESSED ON SOUTHSIDE OF CARRSVILLE WITH DAMAGE TO ELEVEN HOMES AND SIX AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS ALONG HARVEST DRIVE AND ELEYS LN. STORM SURVEY TO DETERMINE DAMAGE RATING PENDING.
20:55 UTCTSTM WND DMGNorthMathews, VAPOSSIBLE TORNADO NEAR TOWN OF NORTH. TREES BLOWN DOWN.
20:55 UTCTORNADO 03 Sw Gloucester CourthoGloucester, VAEF-0 DAMAGE ON HICKORY FORK ROAD IN THE TOWN OF BELROI. 2 LARGE TREES DOWN.
21:12 UTCTORNADO 01 Nw NorthMathews, VAEF-0 DAMAGE ALONG RTE 657...PRIOR TO RTE 14. DAMAGE PATH ROUGHLY 1/4 MILE LONG AND 40 YARDS WIDE. NUMEROUS TREES DOWN. TORNADO DEVELOPED FROM THE SAME STORM THAT PRODUCED EF-0 DAMAGE IN GLOUCESTER COUNTY.
21:12 UTCTORNADO 01 W NorthMathews, VAEF-0 DAMAGE ALONG RTE 657...PRIOR TO RTE 14. DAMAGE PATH ROUGHLY 1/4 MILE LONG AND 40 YARDS WIDE. NUMEROUS TREES DOWN. TORNADO DEVELOPED FROM THE SAME STORM THAT PRODUCED EF-0 DAMAGE IN GLOUCESTER COUNTY.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2008 tornado in VirginiaEvery tornado in Virginia since 1950Warnings in force in Virginia nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 28, 2008

15 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 289:30 AM EDTEF0Cleveland, NC0.140$20,000
April 281:06 PM EDTEF0Taylor, FL0.330$75,000
April 281:10 PM EDTEF1Halifax, VA0.9240$500,000
April 282:25 PM EDTEF0Suwannee, FL0.150
April 282:48 PM EDTEF1Brunswick, VA16.0250$705,000
April 283:40 PM EDTEF1City of Colonial Heights, VA1.08021$2.0 million
April 283:50 PM EDTEF1Greensville, VA2.050$15,000
April 284:05 PM EDTEF3City of Suffolk, VA24.0400200$30 million
April 284:10 PM EDTEF0Southampton, VA0.330$5,000
April 284:35 PM EDTEF0James City, VA0.550$200,000
April 284:40 PM EDTEF1Isle of Wight, VA3.050$184,000
April 284:45 PM EDTEF1Mathews, VA0.350$50,000
April 284:55 PM EDTEF0Gloucester, VA11.050$20,000
April 285:25 PM EDTEF0Beaufort, NC0.220
April 285:40 PM EDTEF0Hyde, NC0.120

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.