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Five year anniversary of tornado outbreak

Posted at 7:51 AM, Apr 28, 2013
and last updated 2013-04-28 07:54:52-04

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On April 28, 2008, an outbreak of tornadoes hit southern and southeastern Virginia during the afternoon hours.

The first tornado struck Virgilina just after 1 p.m.  The second tornado moved across Brunswick county just before 3 p.m.  The next tornado hit Colonial Heights at 3:40 p.m.

Additional tornadoes hit southeast Virginia the rest of the afternoon.  The Middle Peninsula was affected by a tornado that traveled from Gloucester to Mathews county.

The biggest tornado, an EF-3, cut a path from Suffolk to Norfolk by late afternoon.

The EF scale, which is the “Enhanced Fujita” scale, is a measure of tornado strength based on wind speed and damage.  It is named after Theodore Fujita, who created the original “F-Scale”.

EF SCALE
EF Rating 3 Second Gust (mph)
0 65-85
1 86-110
2 111-135
3 136-165
4 166-200
5 Over 200

The National Weather Service has a great summary of the event, including track maps, radar and video from that day.