Tornadoes and Derechos in Virginia

tornadoes knock down trees in the forest and houses in the suburbs
Source: National Archives, Suffolk, VA, 4/30/08 (by Liz Roll/FEMA)

Multiple locations in Virginia have been identified with consistently higher-than-average winds. Those sites are in the mountains and along the coastline, and are the preferred locations for building wind turbines to generate electricity. Tornadoes offer the greatest concentration of windpower energy in Virginia, but their locations can no be predicted and their energy can not be harvested by wind turbines.

Tornadoes are tightly-concentrated, high-energy, violently rotating columns of air. Tornadoes appear and disappear quickly, usually within minutes, and move across the surface of the earth in unpredictable paths. Some are spawned by hurricanes moving west from the Atlantic Ocean or north from the Gulf Coast. Others spin out of strong storms that typically move east across the continent into Virginia.

tornadoes are powerful enough to destroy structures and kill people
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), April 19 Tornado Paths Virginia

Unlike a hurricane, and despite the graphic depictions in the movie Twister, there is no "eye" inside a tornado. Tornadoes consist of a series of counterclockwise spinning vortices which swirl inside a larger parent circulation. They are too narrow to have a stable and calm center, though wind speeds are lower within the interior of the column of air.

Within the United States, there are on average 1,200 tornadoes per year. To date, the strongest wind speed measured by Doppler radar is 318 miles per hour. Twisters move along the ground at an average of 10-20 miles per hour; they do not stay in one place. An individual location will experience destructive winds for just a brief moment.

many tornadoes in Virginia move from the southwest to the northeast
Source: News Leader, A history of twisters: Tornadoes in Virginia since 1950

Tornadoes occur in the Appalachian mountains and on the Blue Ridge, as well as on the more-open Piedmont and Coastal Plain physiographic provinces. Richmond was struck by a tornado in 1816, 1820, 1912, 1936, 1951, 1956 (twice), 1969, 1980, 1984, 1989, 2003, 2004 (twice), 2010 - and five times in 2018. The most significant damage from a Virginia tornado occurred in 1951, when the tornado stayed on the ground for 15 minutes and a dozen people were injured.

Between 1999-2018, there was an average of 1,225 tornadoes annually in the United States. Two states in the heart of "Tornado Alley" experienced the most - Texas with an average 155, and Kansas with 96. The risk of a tornadic thunderstorm moves north after April-May as the strong jet stream winds move north.

Between 1991-2010, Virginia experienced 18 tornadoes annually on average.¹

Virginia experiences only 1% of the tornadoes that touch down in the United States each year, on average
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Historical Records and Trends

Tornadoes are classified by wind speeds which are correlated to their effects on the ground, particularly on human-built structures. The original Fujita Scale was "enhanced" in 2007 to align wind speeds with property damage more closely.

Only the National Weather Service determines if a wind event was a tornado and can assign an official Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale rating to a tornado. EF ratings are based on after-the-fact estimates of wind speed based on the visible effects on structures, rather than actual measurements by scientific instruments or sensors. Where tornadoes cross open fields, damage is particularly hard to estimate. A 2021 study using Doppler radar measurements suggested that the National Weather Service has underestimated the power of such tornadoes, with ratings 1.2 to 1.5 categories too low.

Tornadoes form when the moist air bursts into the dry air. Rapid cooling of the moisture, as the air rises, releases heat. That triggers strong storms which, with the right combination of westerly air currents up high and more-southerly winds below, can create twisting air flows that morph into tornadoes.

Tornadoes are common in the Midwest because wind currents carry dry cool air east from the Rocky Mountains towards the Mississippi River, where it encounters moist warm air moving north from the Gulf of Mexico. When there are sharp boundaries of dry/cool air above warm/moist air, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes can form.

The traditional Tornado Alley, where supercell thunderstorms have been most common, includes parts of Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma, and northern Texas. The first tornado forecast was made in 1948, after a twister damaged Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma on March 20. Five days later, two meteorologists in the Air Force determined that atmospheric conditions were similar and correctly warned that another twister was likely to strike again.

in Dixie Alley, Mississippi had the most tornadoes (117) between 2019-2023
Source: USA Facts, Beyond Tornado Alley: Which states have the most tornadoes?

In 1952, the Air Force's Severe Weather Warning Center initiated "Tornado Alley" project to study how to predict tornadoes. Meteorologists in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is able to provide severe weather alerts and issue tornado watches/warnings, but is not able to predict the paths of whatever tornadoes might be created.

a tornado warning is the most urgent alert issued by the National Weather Service
Source: National Weather Service, Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, and Weather Safety - VA

In Virginia the adiabatic lapse rate, the rate of change in air temperature at higher elevations, is typically too weak to spawn twisters. In contrast to the Midwest, in Virgina a layer of dry air in the upper atmosphere rarely traps warm, moist air at the surface.

"Rarely" is a relative term. Every state, including Alaska, has reported tornadoes. Cold air masses can spawn tornadoes so long as the surface temperature is colder than the temperature higher up in the atmosphere. Because the storms need both moisture and warm air plus a sharp boundary between different air masses in order to form, tornadoes have not been reported north of the Arctic Circle or in Antarctica.

Perhaps due to the warming climate, tornadoes are becoming more common in the southeastern states. In "Dixie Alley" - eastern Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi - the tornado season occurs later in the year than the Midwest, with more storms in October and November. Since the 1980's the greatest number of tornadoes have formed in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama rather than within the traditional Tornado Alley further west in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. If the Wizard of Oz was written today, Dorothy might say "Toto, we're not in Mississippi anymore..."

A second factor limiting tornadoes in Virginia is the presence of mountain ridges, including the Blue Ridge. Ridges serve as barriers that limit mixing of air masses. When thunderstorms travel eastward across the mountains, they often run into dry air from the northeast that can be 10-20 degrees cooler. That creates strong storms which produce locally heavy rainfall. However, instead of air masses creating a broad supercell with twisting air currents, the winds quickly wither away:²

Extensive research has shown that rotation within supercell thunderstorms doesn't decrease, but can actually increase, while crossing mountains, as the rotating column is stretched — IF, that is, instability and shear are similar on both sides of a ridge. But many times, those conditions aren't similar on both sides of our Appalachian ridges.

On occasion, supercells in storms that form over Alabama and Tennessee can move north along the Appalachians into Virginia with enough energy to spawn tornadoes despite the mountain barriers.

The April 2-3, 1974 Super Outbreak generated tornadoes across the southeastern states. In Washington County, one person in a mobile home was killed. A tornado near Roanoke touched down on the land later developed as Valley View Mall. A repeat today, after development has sprawled outward from the city center, would cause much greater destruction.

The April 2011 Super Outbreak lasted four days and produced 360 tornadoes across 21 states. There were 19 tornadoes in Virginia alone on April 27-28, 2011. Four people were killed at Glade Spring, and tractor-trailers at the Petro Truck Stop on I-81:³

...were tossed around like firewood.

tornadoes knock down trees in the forest and houses in the suburbs
Source: National Weather Service, January 13 2013 EF0 Eagleville Tornado

Tornadoes can kill people as well as destroy property at any location in Virginia. The First Baptist Church in Williamsburg, founded by free and enslaved black people in 1776, was destroyed by a tornado in 1834. A new church was not constructed by the congregation until 1856.⁴

Between 1950-1994, the 279 tornadoes recorded in Virginia killed 25 people. Though Virginia has only 1% of the tornadoes that touch down in the United States each year, on average, it is in the middle of the 50 states for number of tornadoes causing fatalities and the total number of deaths.

in 2011, there were 49 tornadoes in Virginia
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Annual Tornado Maps (1952-2011)

Tornadoes peak in April and again in September, when hurricanes are likely to strike Virginia. Most strike in the afternoon, when the sun has heated the atmosphere and instability is greater:⁵

Most of the 726 tornadoes between 1960–2019 occurred in Eastern Virginia, along the Piedmont and Coastal Plain. Consistent with other literature, both the number of tornadoes and the tornado days have increased in Virginia. While 80% of the tornadoes occurred during the warm season, tornadoes did occur during each month including two deadly tornadoes in January and February. Over the 60-year period, a total of 28 people were killed in the Commonwealth.

Less than 20% of the tornadoes in Virginia are rated as EF-2 or higher on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, but the most powerful storms cause roughly 80% of the property damage and injuries and almost 90% of the fatalities. The less-intense EF-0 tornadoes touch down only briefly, with a track on the ground averaging 1.7 miles. The EF-2 tornadoes stay on the ground for an average of five miles, while EF-3 tornadoes touch down for an average of 10 miles. As a result, EF-2 and stronger tornadoes have a greater opportunity to encounter structures as well as more power to demolish buildings.⁶

tornado paths between 1950-2019
Source: Storm Prediction Center, National Weather Service, SVRGIS

Though news stories often highlight the highly-visible damage to rural trailer homes, cities are not immune. On July 1, 2021, an EF-1 tornado touched down in Arlington County and stayed on the ground for over four miles. The tornado moved from the Cherrydale neighborhood through Lyon Village, crossed Rosslyn, then left the ground near 16th Street and Constitution Avenue NW in Washington, DC.

Two EF-0 tornadoes touched down on March 31, 2022 in two Fairfax County locations. One was on the ground for just a minute near Cub Run Elementary School in Centreville, leaving a track 30 yards wide and 80 yards long. Another tornado damaged two gas stations along Chain Bridge Road, just northwest of Tysons Corner Center. Debris ended up on the Silver Line Metro track.

On August 6, 1993, 18 tornadoes swept across southern Virginia. A tornado with winds reaching 225 miles per hour blasted downtown Petersburg. It damaged more than half of Old Towne’s buildings and destroyed the eastern freight wing of the South Side Railroad Depot. The tornado then destroyed 47 of the 57 buildings on Pocahontas Island. In one of the quirks of tornado damage, a church was blown away but the Bible on a podium was left undisturbed.

The storm finished crossing the Appomattox River and demolished the Wal-Mart in Colonial Heights, a site previously struck by tornadoes in the 1850s and in May 1990. In 2008, another F1 tornado touched down near there, stacking cars on top of each other in the Best Buy parking lot.

A total of 259 were injured and four people were killed on that day. No one died in Old Towne, but three died in the Colonial Heights Wal-Mart and one person was crushed to death when a cinderblock building collapsed at a sand and gravel pit company in Prince George County. The tornado caused $50 million in damage, the greatest in Virginia history. As remembered by the National Weather Service:⁷

The most devastating tornado of the day first touched down in the independent city of Petersburg at approximately 1:30 pm, not long after the first tornado lifted. This tornado rapidly grew in size and strength as it moved northeast into the historic district of Petersburg. The F4 tornado leveled several well-built, multi-story brick buildings, along with a train station, and a decorative caboose that was ripped from its anchors and thrown 20 feet. The tornado then moved through the Pocahontas Island neighborhood at F3 intensity, heavily damaging or destroying over 80% of the homes. Forty people were injured and over 100 buildings damaged or destroyed in the Petersburg and Pocahontas Island area.

From there, the tornado crossed the river into Colonial Heights where it severely damaged a strip mall, a K-Mart, and a waterbed store. By this point the tornado had decreased in size slightly, but remained at an F3 rating which is why the Walmart in this location was almost completely destroyed. The tornado was as wide as the Walmart was long. 198 people were injured due to the intense splattering and damage by debris and three women, 40, 48, and 56 years of age, were killed.

18 tornadoes crossed southern Virginia on August 6, 1993
Source: National Weather Service, Remembering the Tornado Outbreak of August 6, 1993

The economic impact on Petersburg was significant. The wing of the South Side Station was not rebuilt, and empty lots were still present in downtown Petersburg three decades later. The city had been starting to redevelop its downtown and attract small independent businesses, tourists, and residents. The mayor estimated that the economic recovery of Petersburg was delayed 15 years by the storm, because many of the damaged buildings had been listed as National Historic Landmarks and could not be bulldozed:⁸

We had been having all these openings and were really boosting our economy. There was a real renaissance going on before the tornado. The tornado put a stop to that. Then it was all gone... in seconds.

A quick-forming July, 2014 tornado with winds around 100 miles per hour knocked trees onto tents and recreational vehicles at a campground filled with 1,300 people near Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore. Two campers were killed, and 36 others injured.⁹

between 1950-2020, six tornadoes were documented in Northampton County
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Storm Events Database

The deadliest tornado to hit Virginia, so far, was in 1929 in Scott County's Rye Cove. The two-story wooden school building, with eight rooms and an auditorium, was demolished. Of the 150 people at the Rye Cove Consolidated School just as recess ended, 56 were injured. Of the 13 who were killed, 12 were students and one was a teacher. Her body was carried 75 yards away as the building was smashed by the powerful wind.

Virginia's most-deadly tornado killed 12 students and one teacher at Rye Cove in 1929
Source: Newspapers.com, The Springfield Press (May 4, 1929)

According to one teacher, there was no time to seek cover and "the building collapsed with a smash" as soon as the storm hit. The school principal described how the tornado was a complete surprise:¹⁰

As it neared the school building it became a black cloud... I think I yelled. It struck the building. The next thing I remembered I was standing knee deep in a pond 75 feet from where the building stood before it was demolished.

Virginia's most-deadly tornado killed 12 students and one teacher at Rye Cove in 1929
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online

One of the rescuers, A. P. Carter, composed a song about what he saw with the lyric:¹¹

Oh listen today and a story I tell

With saddened and tear dimmed eyes

Of a dreadful cyclone that came this way

And blew our schoolhouse away.

Source: You Tube, The Cyclone Of Rye Cove Carter Family

In addition to a spinning tornado, strong winds may also be dangerous. When the Blue Ridge is at the edge of high pressure systems from the north in January/February, and low-pressure systems are located to the southeast near the warmer ocean, the winter winds can flow through the gap at speeds up to 120 miles per hour. That is sufficient to rip the doors off of vehicles, overturn trucks, and even lift people into the air.

On January 24, 2003, five tractor-trailer trucks were flipped onto their sides on Interstate 77 at Fancy Gap. A state trooper who reported to the accident scene claimed he had to hold onto the guardrail to avoid being tossed over the edge of the roadbed that had been carved into the side of the mountain. Another said:¹²

The wind just took them over. They were just like those Matchbox trucks.

Federal and state officials assessed damage from a 2008 tornado in Suffolk
Source: National Archives, Suffolk, VA, 5/01/08

the 2008 EF-3 tornado in Suffolk created a debris field, including a toilet left in the yard
Source: NARA & DVIDS Public Domain Archive, Suffolk, VA, 4/30/08

Any spot in Virginia can experience a tornado. As articulated by a meteorologist discussing how tornadoes were becoming a greater threat in Pennsylvania:¹³

The laws of physics that govern atmospheric motions are agnostic about county, state and country... If you get Oklahoma conditions in Pennsylvania, you'll get an Oklahoma event.

Virginia communities may also be impacted by a "derecho." A derecho (Spanish for "straight") is a series of downbursts at the front of a storm, a straight-line continuous series of windstorms driven by a cold front pressing against warmer air. To be labelled as a derecho, a storm must be 60 miles in width, include 58mph wind gusts, and continue for 400 miles in length.

Virginia experiences a derecho once every four years, on average
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), About Derechos

A derecho may have helped George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau defeat General Cornwallis at Yorktown. The British planned to escape the siege on the night of October 16, 1781 by transferring 8,000 troops across the York River to Gloucester, then breaking through the thin line of American forces there and marching north through Gloucester County. Crossing the York River would require 16 flatboats, each making three trips from Yorktown to Gloucester Point before dawn.

During the second crossing, an extraordinary storm that could have been a derecho or "line squall thunderstorm" blocked the boats from crossing the river. Winds were so strong that two boats loaded with soldiers were blown out into the Chesapeake Bay. They were captured by French ships that had blocked the Royal Navy from providing reinforcements or evacuating the British army. Cornwallis abandoned the attempt to escape, and on October 17 asked for terms of surrender from George Washington.¹⁴

A June, 2012 a storm complex caused a derecho with 80 mile per hour winds that created havoc for 600 miles, as it moved from the Midwest to the Delmarva Peninsula. In Virginia, 15 people died. Trees falling on power lines caused the third-largest power outage in the state's history, exceeded only by hurricanes Isabel and Irene. The 2012 derecho sped up plans to place distribution lines underground in the most outage prone areas.¹⁵

the June 29, 2012 derecho moved steadily from Chicago to Virginia
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), The Ohio Valley / Mid-Atlantic Derecho of June 2012

Port City Brewing Company in Alexandria saved its 13,000 gallons of beer by allowing one batch to ferment at higher temperatures. The beer in process was supposed to be fermented at cool temperatures, but the brewery made steam beer (California common) instead of lager and labelled it "Derecho Common." A year later, an anniversary party at the brewery got an added dose of authenticity when there was a brief power outage, and the celebration required flashlights.¹⁶

the 2012 derecho knocked over trees and caused widespread power outages for a week after the storm
Source: Virginia Derecho Blog, power outages as of July 5, 2012

In 2016, a rare February tornado touched down in Campbell and Appomattox counties. The strong EF-3 tornado stayed on the ground for 17 minutes and left a swath of destruction for 17 miles; Doppler radar recorded debris 10,000 feet above the ground. Seven people were injured and one was killed.

Five years later in December 2021, a major outbreak of tornadoes killed over 80 people across eight states from Indiana to Georgia. The Appomattox Fire Department responded by donating their 1990 Pierce Fire Engine to the fire department in Samburg-Reelfoot, Tennessee.¹⁷

a tornado in February, 2016 crossed through 17 miles in Campbell and Appomattox counties
Source: National Weather Service, Rare February Tornadoes in Mid-Atlantic: Focus on tornadoes in Appomattox and Patrick Counties of Virginia, February 24, 2016 (Figure 6)

the EF-3 tornado in February, 2016 started its track on the ground near the community of Evergreen in Appomattox County
Source: National Weather Service, Rare February Tornadoes in Mid-Atlantic: Focus on tornadoes in Appomattox and Patrick Counties of Virginia, February 24, 2016 (Figure 6)

The Peter's Mountain Roar in Giles County is a Spring phenomenon almost every year, sounding like "a tremendous thundering roar of giant waves breaking over rocky reefs." It is described as:¹⁸

...originating in the Atlantic Ocean and traveling unabated across Virginia until striking Peter's Mountain, when it spills over the ridge causing the roar. Local residents have observed, here in the fields below, ocean gulls and wild geese which have been carried along the mighty current of air and, being exhausted and confused after topping the mountain, have come to rest.

the Peters Mountain Roar at the West Virginia border is caused by winds from the Atlantic Ocean
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online

All parts of Virginia are at risk of experiencing a tornado. On April 30, 2023, an EF-3 tornado swept through the Great Neck section of Virginia Beach, just west of First Landing State Park. The storm caused $15 million in damage to about 100 homes, but no deaths. The city opened a shelter at Great Neck Recreation Center, but most people affected by the storm were able to find a hotel room.

The storm struck before the peak of the tourist season, so there was excess hotel capacity in the resort area. Heavy rain earlier that day had forced cancellation of the third day of the Something in the Water festival organized by Pharrell Williams, who had grown up in Virginia Beach.¹⁹

Hurricanes in Virginia

Wind Energy in Virginia

Source: NOAA Weather Partners, NSSL's Severe Weather Research in the Field

on average, Virginia experiences more tornadoes in September than in any other month
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 25-Year Average Number of Tornadoes per State by Month (All tornadoes, 1997-2022)

References

1. "Average Annual and Monthly Numbers of Tornadoes by State - Maps," National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), https://www.climate.gov/maps-data/dataset/average-annual-and-monthly-numbers-tornadoes-state-maps; "70 years ago, a tornado tore through Richmond hitting Randolph, The Fan, Monroe Park and Jackson Ward," Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 13, 2021, https://richmond.com/weather/70-years-ago-a-tornado-tore-through-richmond-hitting-randolph-the-fan-monroe-park-and/article_17ef0ecd-452a-5ddd-8c00-27f3555cc82d.html; "Here's How Many Tornadoes Your State Sees in a Typical Year," Weather.com, March 26, 2020, https://weather.com/safety/tornado/news/2020-03-26-average-number-of-tornadoes-by-state-each-year-united-states; "Does a tornado have an eye in the middle?," Quora, https://www.quora.com/Does-a-tornado-have-an-eye-in-the-middle; "Frequently Asked Questions about Tornadoes," National Severe Storms Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/tornadoes/faq/ (last checked May 31, 2024)
2. "The Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF Scale)," National Weather Service, https://www.weather.gov/oun/efscale; "We’re underestimating the destructive power of tornadoes, study shows," Washington Post, March 22, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/03/22/tornado-power-underestimated-study/; "Why Virginia isn't a tornado alley," Cardinal News, May 1, 2024, https://cardinalnews.org/2024/05/01/why-virginia-isnt-a-tornado-alley/; "Beyond Tornado Alley: Which states have the most tornadoes?," USA Facts, April 25, 2024, https://usafacts.org/articles/beyond-tornado-alley-which-states-have-the-most-tornadoes/; "Why Virginia isn't a tornado alley," Cardinal News, May 1, 2024, https://cardinalnews.org/2024/05/01/why-virginia-isnt-a-tornado-alley/; "Where is Tornado Alley? Everything to know about the American twister hotbed," Fox Weather, April 24, 2024, https://www.foxweather.com/learn/tornado-alley-7-things-to-know; "Frequently Asked Questions about Tornadoes," National Severe Storms Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/tornadoes/faq/; "How Did 'Tornado Alley' Get Its Name?," Slate, May 21, 2013, https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2013/05/oklahoma-tornado-how-and-when-did-tornado-alley-get-its-name.html; "Maps show how 'Tornado Alley' has shifted in the U.S.," CBS News, June 7, 2024, https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/maps-show-tornado-alley-shift-storms-weather/; Timothy A. Coleman, Richard L. Thompson, Gregory S. Forbes, "A Comprehensive Analysis of the Spatial and Seasonal Shifts in Tornado Activity in the United States," Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, April 29, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-23-0143.1 (last checked June 8, 2024)
3. "Long list of April tornado anniversaries gets no new additions," Cardinal News, April 26, 2024, https://cardinalnews.org/2023/04/26/long-list-of-april-tornado-anniversaries-gets-no-new-additions/ (last checked May 31, 2024)
4. "Remnants of Black church uncovered in Colonial Williamsburg," Associated Press, October 7, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/science-colonial-williamsburg-virginia-baptist-philanthropy-0c9a77abcb6a775a50c2bdf8693b307b; "What's New at First Baptist?," Colonial Williamsburg, January 18, 2024, https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/learn/deep-dives/whats-new-at-first-baptist/ (last checked March 31, 2024)
5. Michael J. Allen, Thomas R. Allen, Christopher Davis, George McLeod, "Exploring Spatial Patterns of Virginia Tornadoes Using Kernel Density and Space-Time Cube Analysis (1960–2019)," ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, Volume 10, Number 5 (2021), https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10050310 (last checked May 4, 2024)
6. "Tornado Numbers, Deaths, Injuries, and Adjusted Damage, 1950-1994," National Severe Storms Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), http://www.spc.noaa.gov/archive/tornadoes/st-trank.html; "Historical Records and Trends," National Centers for Environmental Information, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/climate-information/extreme-events/us-tornado-climatology/trends; "Worst-case weather: a closer look at when and where the strongest tornadoes hit Va.," Richmond Times-Dispatch, March 16, 2021, https://richmond.com/weather/worst-case-weather-a-closer-look-at-when-and-where-the-strongest-tornadoes-hit-va/article_b30550a2-acdc-5ae6-a5c8-68e6b1fe6491.html (last checked March 18, 2021)
7. "Remembering the Tornado Outbreak of August 6, 1993," National Weather Service, https://www.weather.gov/akq/severe_Aug061993; "The 1993 Tornado in Petersburg," Historic Petersburg Foundation, http://www.historicpetersburg.org/the-1993-tornado-in-petersburg/; "Memories of deadly Tri-Cities tornado still vivid, 25 years later," Richmond Times-Dispatch, August 5, 2018, https://richmond.com/weather/memories-of-deadly-tri-cities-tornado-still-vivid-25-years-later/article_c16435a1-ff32-500d-a76d-1de5fd1a5eb3.html; "How two tornadoes touched down between Arlington and the District on Thursday night," Washington Post, July 3, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/07/02/dc-tornado-damage-explanation/; "National Weather Service confirms tornado hit Centreville and Tysons," Washington Post, April 1, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/04/01/tornadoes-fairfax-county/ (last checked April 5, 2022)
8. "The 1993 Tornado in Petersburg," Historic Petersburg Foundation, http://www.historicpetersburg.org/the-1993-tornado-in-petersburg/; "Memories of deadly Tri-Cities tornado still vivid, 25 years later," Richmond Times-Dispatch, August 5, 2018, https://richmond.com/weather/memories-of-deadly-tri-cities-tornado-still-vivid-25-years-later/article_c16435a1-ff32-500d-a76d-1de5fd1a5eb3.html (last checked October 7, 2021)
9. "Storm cut path of random ruin; officials tour camp," The Virginian-Pilot, July 26, 2014, http://hamptonroads.com/node/723491; "Tornado History," Virginia Department of Emergency Management, http://www.vaemergency.gov/news/history/tornado (last checked July 26, 2014)
10. "Rye Cove Cyclone," Virginia Encyclopedia, http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Rye_Cove_Cyclone; "'Blew our schoolhouse away' - Duffield, Virginia," Southern Spirit Guide, November 5, 2014, http://www.southernspiritguide.org/blew-our-schoolhouse-away-duffield-virginia/ (last checked March 18, 2021)
11. "A dreadful cyclone that came this way," AppalachianHistory.net, May 2, 2019, https://www.appalachianhistory.net/2019/05/dreadful-cyclone-that-came-this-way.html (last checked March 18, 2021)
12. Gangloff, Mike, "Wintry blasts topple trucks on I-77," The Roanoke Times, January 25, 2003, www.roanoke.com/roatimes/news/story143458.html (last checked January 25, 2003)
13. "As Tornado Alley Shifts East, Bracing for Impact in Unexpected Places," Inside Climate News, September 4, 2024, https://insideclimatenews.org/news/04092024/tornado-alley-shifts-east/ (last checked September 7, 2024)
14. "About Derechos," National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), https://www.spc.noaa.gov/misc/AbtDerechos/derechofacts.htm#historic; "Did a derecho help defeat Gen. Cornwallis at Yorktown?," Cardinal News, October 15, 2024, https://cardinalnews.org/2024/10/15/did-a-derecho-help-defeat-gen-cornwallis-at-yorktown/; "Derecho still echoes and haunts more than a decade later," Cardinal News, June 28, 2023, https://cardinalnews.org/2023/06/28/derecho-still-echoes-and-haunts-more-than-a-decade-later/; "The Ohio Valley / Mid-Atlantic Derecho of June 2012," National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), https://www.spc.noaa.gov/misc/AbtDerechos/casepages/jun292012page.htm (last checked Octover 16, 2024)
15. "Dominion Energy looks back on 2012 derecho," WHSV, June 29, 2017, https://www.whsv.com/content/news/Dominion-Energy-looks-back-on-2012-derecho--431676093.html (last checked March 18, 2021)
16. "Port City Celebrates Derecho Anniversary With Derecho Beer Re-Release; Promptly Loses Power Again," DCist, June 28, 2013, http://dcist.com/2013/06/port_city_celebrates_derecho_annive.php; "Port City Names Beer After Storm That Helped Create It," DCist, July 9, 2012, http://dcist.com/2012/07/no_beer_left_behind_port_city_brewe.php (last checked July 26, 2014)
17. "Five years later: Looking back at the rare Appomattox County tornado," WDBJ, February 24, 2021, https://www.wdbj7.com/2021/02/24/five-years-later-looking-back-at-the-rare-appomattox-county-tornado/; "Rare February Tornadoes in Mid-Atlantic: Focus on tornadoes in Appomattox and Patrick Counties of Virginia, February 24, 2016," National Weather Service, https://www.weather.gov/media/rnk/Appomattox.pdf; "Appomattox firefighters donate truck to Tennessee department hit by tornadoes," WSET, December 24, 2021, https://wset.com/news/local/appomattox-firefighters-donate-truck-to-tennessee-department-hit-by-tornadoes; "The December 2021 tornado outbreak, explained," National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), December 20, 2021, https://www.noaa.gov/news/december-2021-tornado-outbreak-explained (last checked December 25, 2021)
18. "Peter's Mountain Roar," Hanging Rock Raptor Observatory, http://www.hangingrocktower.org/roar.htm; "Wintry blasts topple trucks on I-77," The Roanoke Times, January 25, 2003, www.roanoke.com/roatimes/news/story143458.html (last checked July 26, 2014)
19. "Tornado damages up to 100 homes in Virginia Beach, city declares state of emergency," The Virginian-Pilot, May 1, 2023, https://www.pilotonline.com/weather/vp-nw-storm-winds-hail-20230430-co4pj2ig3jeslbl2ffil74hede-story.html; "Cut short by weather, Something in the Water still had big moments," The Virginian-Pilot, May 1, 2023, https://www.pilotonline.com/entertainment/festivals/vp-nw-sitw-third-day-0501-20230501-xceb6ev46nhebnpmllvwtt5hzu-story.html; "More than $15M in residential damage caused by EF-3 tornado in Virginia Beach, city officials say," The Virginian-Pilot, May 1, 2023, https://www.pilotonline.com/weather/storms/vp-nw-virginia-beach-tornado-updates-20230501-j2kclt3mnng5zl7qvfygiebcpe-story.html (last checked May 2, 2023)

an EF3 tornado struck Grade Spring on April 27, 2011
Source: Brent Moore, 4/27 Tornado Damage - Glade Spring, VA

most tornadoes strike in the Great Plains or near the Gulf Coast
Source: Storm Prediction Center WCM Page, National Weather Service, Tornado Climatology -- All Tornadoes

Climate
Virginia Places