Tornadoes · United States · Virginia · 2011

EF1 tornado, Ceder Fork, Virginia, April 27, 2011

This EF1 tornado ran 0.2 miles across Caroline County on April 27, 2011, touching down at 8:55 PM EDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $15,000 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 27, 2011
Touchdown
8:55 PM EDT (00:55 UTC)
Lifted
9:00 PM EDT (01:00 UTC)
On the ground
5 minutes
Path length
0.2 miles (0.4 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$15,000
County
Caroline County
Touchdown point
37.938, -77.523
Lift-off point
37.940, -77.519
Record number
1104271855-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Scattered severe thunderstorms well in advance of a cold front produced damaging winds, large hail, and several tornadoes across portions of central Virginia.

Tornado crossed Jericho Road, approximately 2.5 miles west of Carmel Church. Numerous trees were downed or sheared off.

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

The warnings

13 minutes of warning. NWS AKQ issued a tornado warning for this county at 00:42 UTC, 13 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 01:30 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 22:19 UTC and running to 03:05 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
17:30 UTC19:52 UTCTornado WatchAKQ
22:19 UTC03:05 UTCTornado WatchAKQ
23:29 UTC00:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQ
23:35 UTC00:15 UTCTornado WarningAKQ
23:56 UTC00:45 UTCTornado WarningAKQ
00:12 UTC00:45 UTCTornado WarningAKQ
00:42 UTC01:30 UTCTornado WarningAKQ
01:15 UTC01:45 UTCTornado WarningAKQ
11:38 UTC17:33 UTCTornado WatchAKQ
13:35 UTC14:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQ
14:12 UTC15:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningAKQ
14:25 UTC15:00 UTCTornado WarningAKQ
14:56 UTC15:20 UTCSevere Thunderstorm 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 19:12 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.

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), 00:00Z

0.9 hours before the tornado, 113 km from the path. April 28, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Washington/Dulle, VA at 00:00Z on 2011-04-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1143 joules per kilogram, CIN -34, lifted condensation level 834 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 00:00Z on 2011-04-28The 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 283 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 47 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
1143 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-34 J/kg
Surface CAPE
649 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
834 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
283 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
353 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.8
Supercell composite
14.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), 12:00Z

11.1 hours after it, 113 km from the path. April 28, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 2011-04-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1240 joules per kilogram, CIN -3, lifted condensation level 687 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Washington/Dulle, VA at 12:00Z on 2011-04-28The 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 382 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 62 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
1240 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1177 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
687 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
62 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
382 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
586 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
4.8
Supercell composite
15.6
0-3 km lapse rate
6.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 115 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:55 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
22:07 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD2 Se ChancellorsvilleSpotsylvania, VAFUNNEL CLOUD SPOTTED ABOUT 7 MILES WEST OF FREDERICKSBURG... VA
22:10 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD2 Sse GarrisonvilleStafford, VAPASSING OVER 95. LOWERING.
22:45 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDPowhatanPowhatan, VANUMEROUS SIGHTINGS POWHATAN COURTHOUSE WEST ALONG RTE 60
23:15 UTCHAIL 1OilvilleGoochland, VA62 MPH WIND MEASURED
23:25 UTCTORNADO5 Ene GoochlandGoochland, VANWS STORM SURVEY DETERMINED THE DAMAGE WAS CONSISTENT WITH AN EF1 TORNADO. TORNADO TRACK MEASURED AT APPROXIMATELY 100 YARDS WIDE. THE TORNADO TRACKED FROM BRIDGEWATER BLUFF TO PONY FARM ROAD...CROSSING INTERSTATE 64.
23:33 UTCTORNADO8 E OilvilleGoochland, VATORNADO REPORTED ON THE GROUND VICINTY I64 AND 295
23:43 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDOilvilleGoochland, VAFUNNEL REPORTED JUST NORTH OF OILVILLE NEAR I64
23:59 UTCTORNADO3 Ese FerncliffLouisa, VANEAR SHANNON HILL ROAD
00:15 UTCTORNADOOilvilleGoochland, VATORNADO ON THE GROUND NEAR OILVILLE
00:25 UTCTORNADONoelHanover, VALARGE TREES DOWN VICNITY OF VERDON AND NOEL ROADS REPORTED BY PUBLIC WHO BELIEVED IT MIGHT BE A TORNADO.
00:40 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Sw BelmontSpotsylvania, VATWO TREES DOWN ALONG ROUTE 522.
00:55 UTCTORNADO5 S LadysmithCaroline, VANWS STORM SURVEY DETERMINED DAMAGE CONSISTENT WITH AN EF-1 TORNADO. TORNADO TRACK MEASURED AT APPROXIMATELY 100 YARDS WIDE. THE TORNADO CROSSED JERICHO ROAD...APPROXIMATELY 2.5 MILES WEST OF THE TOWN OF CARMEL CHURCH.
00:58 UTCTORNADO3 W Exit 104 Along I 95Caroline, VAPOSSIBLE TORNADO ON THE GROUND...IN THE RUTHER GLEN AREA SOUTH...SOUTHWEST OF GOLANSVILLE.
01:17 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDLadysmithCaroline, VATREES DOWN LADYSMITH ROAD

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2011 tornado in VirginiaEvery tornado in Virginia since 1950Warnings in force in Virginia nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 27, 2011

209 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 271:12 AM CDTEF1Yazoo, MS9.7250$70,000
April 271:15 AM CDTEF1Leflore, MS27.750$50,000
April 271:24 AM CDTEF1Leflore, MS3.2100$50,000
April 271:36 AM CDTEF0LaSalle Parish, LA8.0100$40,000
April 271:40 AM CDTEF2Holmes, MS12.31,760$100,000
April 271:40 AM CDTEF3Holmes, MS23.01,760$700,000
April 271:51 AM CDTEF2Attala, MS23.0860$553,000
April 271:51 AM CDTEF0Holmes, MS1.750$25,000
April 271:59 AM CDTEF2Holmes, MS8.8880$10,000
April 272:06 AM CDTEF1Grenada, MS1.9150$60,000
April 272:17 AM CDTEF2Montgomery, MS11.71,760$425,000
April 272:20 AM CDTEF1Attala, MS0.550$25,000
April 272:25 AM CDTEF2Choctaw, MS6.81,7502$350,000
April 272:29 AM CDTEF1Winston, MS4.2150$85,000
April 272:29 AM CDTEF3Choctaw, MS58.71,80025$5.4 million
April 272:37 AM CDTEF2Webster, MS13.31,32015$605,000
April 272:47 AM CDTEF1Winston, MS7.3200$60,000
April 273:20 AM CDTEF1Noxubee, MS6.2150$300,000
April 273:43 AM CDTEF2Tishomingo, MS9.31501$500,000
April 274:01 AM CDTEF1Lauderdale, AL to TN9.2200$1,000
April 274:03 AM CDTEF2Kemper, MS to AL35.21,410$3.2 million
April 274:19 AM CDTEF1Lauderdale, AL1.81001
April 274:27 AM CDTEF2Pickens, AL14.41,232$1.8 million
April 274:41 AM CDTEF3Pickens, AL22.5704$741,000
April 275:03 AM CDTEF1Fayette, AL7.31764$1.4 million
April 275:17 AM CDTEF3Tuscaloosa, AL20.3200$9.3 million
April 275:18 AM CDTEF3Walker, AL18.937520$13 million
April 275:38 AM CDTEF2Lincoln, TN25.9400
April 275:40 AM CDTEF1Marshall, TN2.9100$75,000
April 275:47 AM CDTEF0Rutherford, TN2.150$8,000
April 275:48 AM CDTEF2Cullman, AL30.38801
April 275:50 AM CDTEF1Shelby, AL3.4100$3.7 million
April 275:50 AM CDTEF1Lawrence, TN2.71501$11,000
April 275:52 AM CDTEF0Rutherford, TN1.675$50,000
April 275:53 AM CDTEF2Blount, AL3.22003$9.3 million
April 275:54 AM CDTEF2Jefferson, AL7.820020$18 million
April 276:12 AM CDTEF1Blount, AL14.8200$42,000
April 276:13 AM CDTEF2Moore, TN2.075$25,000
April 276:16 AM CDTEF2St. Clair, AL3.82005$865,000
April 276:20 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL11.075
April 276:24 AM CDTEF0Smith, TN3.450$5,000
April 276:24 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL6.4100
April 276:30 AM CDTEF2Marshall, AL20.0880
April 276:30 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL4.650
April 276:30 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL3.4100
April 276:30 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL5.750
April 276:32 AM CDTEF1Green, KY3.1150
April 276:35 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL4.9100
April 276:35 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL0.350$10,000
April 276:43 AM CDTEF0Marshall, AL2.875
April 276:45 AM CDTEF0Coffee, TN1.750$5,000
April 276:45 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL4.8200
April 276:45 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL6.9300
April 276:47 AM CDTEF1Jackson, TN3.3100$10,000
April 276:49 AM CDTEF0Jackson, TN2.050$20,000
April 276:49 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL1.6100
April 276:50 AM CDTEF1Warren, TN13.2100$100,000
April 276:58 AM CDTEF1DeKalb, AL27.93001
April 277:02 AM CDTEF1Monroe, KY5.9550
April 277:10 AM CDTEF2DeKalb, AL5.8200$30,000

All 210 of them

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.