EF2 tornado, Palmer to Lilian, Virginia, August 4, 2020

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 mph

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

3. EF2111 to 135 mphthis tornado

   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.

Rating

EF2

Date

August 4, 2020

Touchdown

5:40 AM EDT (09:40 UTC)

Lifted

6:00 AM EDT (10:00 UTC)

On the ground

20 minutes

Path length

15.6 miles (25.1 km)

Path width

500 yards (457 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

5

Property damage

$3.0 million

Counties

Lancaster and Northumberland counties

Touchdown point

37.627, -76.336

Lift-off point

37.840, -76.428

Record number

2008040340-01

1 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS AKQ, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 69 mph.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

The center of Tropical Storm Isaias tracked north just inland of the Middle Atlantic Coast from late Monday night, August 3rd through Tuesday morning, August 4th. Outer bands north and east of the Tropical Storm produced seven tornadoes across portions of eastern and southeast Virginia.

A damage survey conducted by the NWS Wakefield office found a path of storm damage consistent with an EF2 tornado. The tornado touched down near Windmill Point Lane then rapidly intensified as it crossed over Antipoison Creek. Numerous houses in the Antipoison Neck area along Tammy Drive, Clark Point Drive, Deep Water Drive, Wayne Circle, Chesapeake Trail, and others experienced significant roof loss and structural damage consistent with EF2 intensity. One house had the upper portions shifted off the main structure. Similar roof and structural damage continued as the tornado moved north into areas near Ocran Road, Squires Road and Bald Eagle Road in the Poplar Neck area. This is also where the tornado was at its widest point of 500 yards. The tornado then continued northward to Fleets Bay Road where additional roof loss consistent with EF2 intensity occurred. After this point, the tornado likely weakened to an EF1 as it crossed Boys Camp Road, Waverly Avenue and East Church Street in Kilmarnock. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped in this area, with some siding and roof damage. The tornado then continued north northwest across Carlson Road and Mount Olive Road where more downed trees were observed, along with some roof and siding damage to houses. The tornado then tracked from Lancaster county into Northumberland county.

The tornado, as an EF1, tracked from Lancaster county into Northumberland County near Browns Store Road before lifting just north of Light Street. Mostly trees were snapped or downed in this area.

A damage survey conducted by the NWS Wakefield office found a path of storm damage consistent with an EF1 tornado. The tornado moved onshore from the Chesapeake Bay in the town of Fleeton, crossing Fleeton Road where several houses experienced roof and siding damage. In addition, trees were snapped and uprooted. The tornado then crossed over the Wicomico River and then moved back onshore near Timbs Road where trees were uprooted and snapped, and a few houses experienced roof and siding damage. The tornado then moved northward to near Buzzards Point Road, destroying a canopy, before lifting.

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

23 minutes of warning. NWS AKQ issued a tornado warning for this county at 09:17 UTC, 23 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 09:45 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 06:28 UTC and running to 12:31 UTC.

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 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 05:53 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 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.

Saluda Hummel Field (W75), 16 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 100 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 09:41 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.

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

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

The live radar over the trackEvery 2020 tornado in VirginiaEvery tornado in Virginia since 1950Warnings in force in Virginia nowThe forecast where you are

30 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.

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