Tornadoes · United States · Virginia · 2012
EF0 tornado, Hadensville, Virginia, June 25, 2012
This EF0 tornado ran 1.5 miles across Goochland County on June 25, 2012, touching down at 2:25 PM EDT and reaching 200 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.
EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
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.
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.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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 25, 2012
- Touchdown
- 2:25 PM EDT (18:25 UTC)
- Lifted
- 2:35 PM EDT (18:35 UTC)
- On the ground
- 10 minutes
- Path length
- 1.5 miles (2.5 km)
- Path width
- 200 yards (183 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $15,000
- County
- Goochland County
- Touchdown point
- 37.843, -77.998
- Lift-off point
- 37.823, -78.010
- Record number
- 1206251225-01
What the Weather Service recorded
Scattered severe thunderstorms in advance of a cold front produced damaging winds, large hail and a tornado across portions of central and eastern Virginia.
Tornado downed numerous trees and produced some minor structural damage in the Hadensville area of Goochland county.
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 16:59 UTC and running to 21:07 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16:59 UTC | 21:07 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | AKQ |
| 17:51 UTC | 18:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ |
| 18:23 UTC | 19:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ |
| 18:28 UTC | 19:00 UTC | Tornado Warning | AKQ |
| 18:44 UTC | 19:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | AKQ |
| 19:03 UTC | 19:24 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AKQ |
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. The outlook in force was issued at 16:29 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), 12:00Z
6.4 hours before the tornado, 135 km from the path. June 25, 2012.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1176 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -98 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 1581 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1268 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 34 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 20 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 84 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 95 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.2
- Supercell composite
- 2.8
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.6 K/km
Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), 00:00Z
5.6 hours after it, 135 km from the path. June 26, 2012.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -17268 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 26 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2334 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 14 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -55 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 19 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 7.8 K/km
The surface observations
Louisa County/Freeman Field (LKU), 20 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16:35 UTC | 87.8 | 62.6 | 320° 5 kt | 8 | 1007.8 | |
| 16:55 UTC | 87.8 | 64.4 | 330° 4 kt | 1007.1 | ||
| 17:15 UTC | 84.2 | 64.4 | 310° 3 kt | 1006.8 | ||
| 17:35 UTC | 78.8 | 69.8 | 0° 0 kt | 1006.8 | RA | |
| 17:55 UTC | 71.6 | 66.2 | 310° 16 kt | 25 | 1008.8 | +RA |
| 18:15 UTC | 69.8 | 64.4 | 320° 7 kt | 19 | 1007.5 | -RA |
| 18:35 UTC | 73.4 | 66.2 | 0° 0 kt | 1007.1 | ||
| 18:55 UTC | 73.4 | 66.2 | 110° 3 kt | 1007.1 | ||
| 19:15 UTC | 77 | 69.8 | 130° 4 kt | 1007.1 | ||
| 19:35 UTC | 78.8 | 69.8 | 110° 3 kt | 1006.8 | ||
| 19:55 UTC | 80.6 | 69.8 | 50° 5 kt | 1006.4 | ||
| 20:15 UTC | 82.4 | 69.8 | 30° 4 kt | 1006.4 |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 129 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 18:24 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) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16:54 UTC | HAIL 0.88 | 2 Sse Free Union | Albemarle, VA | |
| 17:20 UTC | HAIL 0.75 | 1 W Gordonsville | Orange, VA | |
| 17:32 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 W Gordonsville | Albemarle, VA | POWER POLES SNAPPED PLUS MULTIPLE TREES BLOWN DOWN BY STRONG THUNDERSTORM WINDS. |
| 17:55 UTC | HAIL 0.75 | Kents Store | Fluvanna, VA | |
| 18:25 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Nw Lake Killarney | Goochland, VA | EF0 TORNADO CONFIRMED BY NWS SURVEY |
| 18:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Ese Ferncliff | Louisa, VA | TREES DOWN ALONG INTERSTATE 64 IN LOUISA COUNTY. |
| 18:30 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | Gum Spring | Louisa, VA | |
| 18:35 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Hickory Haven | Goochland, VA | NUMEROUS TREES DOWN HIGHWAY 288 AND WEST BROAD ST. |
| 18:40 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Nne Short Pump | Henrico, VA | SEVERAL TREES SNAPPED IN HALF NEAR INTERSTATE 64 AND 295 ON THE WEST SIDE. |
| 18:40 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Sse Rockville | Hanover, VA | SEVERAL TOPS OF TREES SNAPPED AND SPLIT...MAILBOX FOUND HUNDREDS OF FEET AWAY AND BOARD STICKING IN SIDING. |
| 18:40 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 W Vontay | Hanover, VA | TREES DOWN AT SUMMER RIDGE PLACE AND VONTE ROAD. |
| 18:40 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Rockville | Hanover, VA | TWISTED AND SNAPPED TREES IN PATH IN ROCKVILLE. METAL SHED ALSO DESTROYED. |
| 18:40 UTC | HAIL 1 | 1 Sse Rockville | Hanover, VA | |
| 18:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Ene Erin Shades | Henrico, VA | SEVERAL LARGE TREES DOWN WITH ROOF OFF CORPORATE BUILDING IN INNSBROOK CORPORATE CENTER. |
| 18:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Vontay | Hanover, VA | NUMEROUS TREES DOWN AND MINOR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE ALONG VONTAY ROAD...VA HIGHWAY 617. ESTIMATED WINDS BETWEEN 80 AND 90 MPH. |
| 18:48 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Short Pump | Henrico, VA | WIDESPREAD TREES DOWN WITH SOME ON HOUSES FROM SHORT PUMP THROUGH WEST END. EMERGENCY CREWS ARE PERFORMING DAMAGE SURVEYS. |
| 18:50 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Nnw Rockville | Hanover, VA | NUMEROUS TREES DOWN AND MINOR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE IN MARKHAM SUBDIVISION IN ROCKVILLE. ESTIMATED WINDS 80 TO 90 MPH. |
| 18:53 UTC | TSTM WND GST 60 | 1 Sw Lakeside | Henrico, VA | TREES DOWN ACROSS THE AREA. |
| 19:00 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Se Broad Meadows | Henrico, VA | NUMEROUS TREES DOWN...INCLUDING SEVERAL DOWNED ONTO HOMES...ON CRYSTALWOOD LANE IN INNSBROOK SECTION OF WESTERN HENRICO COUNTY. ESTIMATED WINDS BETWEEN 80 AND 90 MPH. |
| 19:05 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Ene English Hills | Henrico, VA | WIDESPREAD TREES DOWN ACROSS HERICO WITH NUMEROUS POWER LINES DOWN. |
| 19:05 UTC | HAIL 1 | 1 Ene English Hills | Henrico, VA | WIDESPREAD TREES DOWN ACROSS HERICO WITH NUMEROUS POWER LINES DOWN. |
| 19:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Nw Broad Meadows | Henrico, VA | LARGE TREES DOWN WITH PEOPLE TRAPPED IN HOMES IN BROAD MEADOWS SUBDIVISION. |
| 19:12 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Acca | City of Richmond, VA | DAMAGE IS BEING REPORTED AT THE RICHMOND DIAMOND. ROWS OF SEATS HAVE BEEN BLOWN AROUND AND A WALL IS LEANING NEAR COLLAPSE. |
| 19:40 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Nne Short Pump | Henrico, VA | SEVERAL TREES SNAPPED IN HALF NEAR INTERSTATE 64 AND 295 ON THE WEST SIDE. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2012 tornado in VirginiaEvery tornado in Virginia since 1950Warnings in force in Virginia nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of June 25, 2012
1 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 25 | 7:05 PM EDT | EF0 | Belknap, NH | 0.1 | 10 |
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.