Rare falltime tornadoes hit north central Virginia on Thursday in the midafternoon as a cold front swept through the state. The Washington Post reports the National Weather Service confirmed seven twisters touched down in Fairfax, Prince William, Louisa, Strafford and Fauquier counties. Four funnel clouds were within 50 miles of the nation's capital. No injuries or deaths were reported.
One twister was seen in the middle of rush hour traffic along Interstate 95 near Fredericksburg. A video on YouTube was uploaded by a motorist stuck in traffic watching the twister go by. The car was stopped on a bridge as the edges of the tornado crossed the highway. Leaves can be seen blowing horizontally and sheets of rain were pelting the car. Fortunately the tornado was weak enough to only blow around small bits of debris and rain.
The only victims of the high winds in Louisa County may have been historic structures. NBC 12 in Richmond, Va., reported a house built in 1746 had the roof blown off and some columns collapse in Sylvania, which is in Louisa County. The plantation house was hit around 3:45 p.m.
Damage reports in New Kent County were more drastic. About 30 homes were damaged in New Kent County and Woodhaven. Hundreds of trees were downed by the tornadoes. The elementary school suffered minor damage.
Louisa County is the same locality that was hit by an earthquake Aug. 23 that caused damage in Washington. After that, Hurricane Irene rolled through. Now a tornado has damaged parts of the county. The recent storm was just the eighth tornado to hit Louisa County since 1950. The area has suffered $18 million in damage yet has not been given any federal disaster aid.
The National Weather Service states deadly tornadoes in Virginia are rare. From 1950 to 1993, there were only two deadly tornadoes in Virginia. Twisters in 1993 accounted for four deaths and 238 injuries.
There still may be more twisters in store for the U.S. The 2011 count is already above average. Taking into account preliminary reports, there have been 1,814 twisters. That's 400 above a three-year average. The record for the most tornado deaths in one year was set in 2011 with 547 deaths, 530 in April and May. There were 160 of those deaths in one storm that destroyed 30 percent of Joplin, Mo.
There may be a spike in tornado activity in later October and early November as warm and cold air clash during the change of seasons. Tornadoes can occur anytime, anywhere, even though the most prominent times are in April and May for the United States.
