Tornadoes · United States · Virginia · 2009

EF0 tornado, Jonesville, Virginia, June 16, 2009

This EF0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Lee County on June 16, 2009, touching down at 6:40 PM EDT and reaching 20 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $5,000 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 mphthis tornado

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

    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
EF0
Date
June 16, 2009
Touchdown
6:40 PM EDT (22:40 UTC)
Lifted
6:45 PM EDT (22:45 UTC)
On the ground
5 minutes
Path length
0.1 miles (0.2 km)
Path width
20 yards (18 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$5,000
County
Lee County
Touchdown point
36.680, -83.100
Lift-off point
36.680, -83.100
Record number
0906161640-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A thunderstorm complex developed along a boundary and tracked across southwest Virginia bringing several thunderstorm wind damage reports. Three small tornadoes also developed.

An EF0 tornado touched down briefly in Jonesville with a 20 yard path width and path length of a tenth of a mile. The tornado produced maximum wind speeds at 65 mph. A few trees were downed due to the tornado.

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

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 21:57 UTC and running to 00:44 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
21:57 UTC00:44 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchMRX
21:59 UTC23:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRX
22:31 UTC23:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningMRX
23:00 UTC00:00 UTCTornado WarningMRX

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 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:42 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.

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), 12:00Z

10.7 hours before the tornado, 294 km from the path. June 16, 2009.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 2009-06-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 134 joules per kilogram, CIN -20, lifted condensation level 451 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 12:00Z on 2009-06-16The 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 30 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 22 knots.193958Sfc1 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
134 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-20 J/kg
Surface CAPE
20 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
451 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
30 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
64 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.4
0-3 km lapse rate
4.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), 00:00Z

1.3 hours after it, 294 km from the path. June 17, 2009.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 00:00Z on 2009-06-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 50 joules per kilogram, CIN -2, lifted condensation level 466 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, Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC at 00:00Z on 2009-06-17The 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 20 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 35 knots.193958Sfc1 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
50 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Surface CAPE
65 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
466 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
8 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
20 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
120 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Middlesboro-Bell (1A6), 57 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
20:40 UTC84.266.2170° 5 kt1015.2
21:00 UTC84.264.4170° 4 kt1015.2
21:20 UTC82.466.2180° 3 kt1014.6
21:40 UTC82.466.2170° 3 kt1014.2
22:00 UTC82.468310° 11 kt171017.6
22:20 UTC6862.6290° 7 kt151016.9+VCTSRA
22:40 UTC6862.6300° 3 kt1016.6TSRA
23:00 UTC66.264.4140° 3 kt1016.6-RA
23:20 UTC66.264.40° 0 kt1015.9TSRA
23:40 UTC66.264.4340° 6 kt1015.9-VCTSRA
00:00 UTC66.264.40° 0 kt1015.9-RA
00:20 UTC66.264.40° 0 kt1015.6

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

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 63 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:39 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
22:30 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Ssw JonesvilleLee, VASEVERAL TREES FELL ON AND DAMAGED A CABIN IN THE SANDY RIDGE AREA. REPORTED BY DISPATCH AND THE EMA DIRECTOR.
23:06 UTCTSTM WND DMGAppalachiaWise, VANUMEROUS TREES DOWN IN APPALACHIA. REPORTED BY DISPATCH.
23:10 UTCTSTM WND DMGBig Stone GapWise, VANUMEROUS TREES DOWN IN BIG STONE GAP. REPORTED BY DISPATCH.
23:25 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Sw DungannonScott, VANUMEROUS TREES DOWN ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE COUNTY. REPORTED BY DISPATCH.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2009 tornado in VirginiaEvery tornado in Virginia since 1950Warnings in force in Virginia nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 16, 2009

22 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 165:40 AM CDTEF1Cedar, MO5.8150$15,000
June 1612:00 PM CDTEF0Potter, SD0.210
June 1612:28 PM CDTEF1Lyon, KY0.390$70,000
June 161:00 PM CDTEF0Sioux, ND0.120
June 161:35 PM CDTEF0Potter, SD0.525
June 162:02 PM CDTEF0Walworth, SD0.110
June 162:09 PM CDTEF0Hand, SD0.725
June 162:00 PM MDTEF0Dunn, ND0.120
June 163:55 PM CDTEF0Hand, SD3.6100
June 165:42 PM EDTEF0Cleveland, NC1.150
June 166:00 PM EDTEF1Cleveland, NC9.3300
June 165:31 PM CDTEF0Davison, SD0.350
June 166:50 PM EDTEF1York, SC1.530
June 166:36 PM CDTEF0Hutchinson, SD0.450
June 166:50 PM CDTEF0Hutchinson, SD0.350
June 167:55 PM EDTEF0Russell, VA0.220$5,000
June 167:20 PM CDTEF0Hutchinson, SD0.350
June 167:27 PM CDTEF1Hutchinson, SD2.1100
June 168:35 PM EDTEF0Washington, VA0.120$8,000
June 169:25 PM EDTEF1Lewis, KY0.250$20,000
June 168:28 PM CDTEF0Yankton, SD0.350
June 169:25 PM CDTEF0Sumner, KS0.855

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.