Northern Virginia tornado history (Alexandria, Centreville: club, move to, electricity)

[gomason]

Originally Posted by Joke Insurance

I'd still love to find more information on the tornadoes that struck Chantilly in 2011, Manassas in 2008, Nokesville in 2011, and Reston in 2011.

I have a friend who lives off of 28 .5 mile from Linton Hall Road and was there in 2011. The damage was really minor. Maybe some shingles came off and small trees down?

I always roll my eyes when I see channel 7 talking about their being a "small" chance of tornados during severe weather around here. I can't ever recalling any tornado being bad enough around here to even cause a fatality in the 12 years I've been here.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by gomason

I have a friend who lives off of 28 .5 mile from Linton Hall Road and was there in 2011. The damage was really minor. Maybe some shingles came off and small trees down?

I always roll my eyes when I see channel 7 talking about their being a "small" chance of tornados during severe weather around here. I can't ever recalling any tornado being bad enough around here to even cause a fatality in the 12 years I've been here.

The going overboard reporting results in not taking them seriously. I assure you, though, that you should take them seriously. I was in College Park when that one hit. It was an honest to goodness real tornado. They do happen.

[gomason]

Originally Posted by dkf747

The going overboard reporting results in not taking them seriously. I assure you, though, that you should take them seriously. I was in College Park when that one hit. It was an honest to goodness real tornado. They do happen.

I take it fairly seriously. I've been through a tornado myself in North Carolina. However, considering there have been like 4 or 5 tornados higher than an EF-1 and 1 fatality in 65 years, you're a pretty damn unlucky person if you get hit by a serious tornado around here.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by gomason

I take it fairly seriously. I've been through a tornado myself in North Carolina. However, considering there have been like 4 or 5 tornados higher than an EF-1 and 1 fatality in 65 years, you're a pretty damn unlucky person if you get hit by a serious tornado around here.

If you don't take the warning seriously and then get hit by one, that isn't called unlucky.

[cdmurphy]

Originally Posted by Joke Insurance

I'd still love to find more information on the tornadoes that struck Chantilly in 2011, Manassas in 2008, Nokesville in 2011, and Reston in 2011.

3/10/2011 - Chantilly
Storm Events Database - Event Details | National Climatic Data Center

7/23/2008 - Manassas
Storm Events Database - Event Details | National Climatic Data Center
Photo (taken on I-66 in Vienna): https://flic.kr/p/57mPEJ

4/27/2011 - Nokesville
Storm Events Database - Event Details | National Climatic Data Center

4/27/2011 - Reston
Storm Events Database - Event Details | National Climatic Data Center
Photo: https://flic.kr/p/9D8Toz


More information about tornadoes in Virginia: Tornado History | Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM)

Nice overview of the 2011 tornadoes: Twisted April: The tornadoes of 2011 - WTOP

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by cdmurphy

Nice overview of the 2011 tornadoes: Twisted April: The tornadoes of 2011 - WTOP

Interesting sentence in that link:

"All the fatalities occurred within the areas where tornado watches and eventually tornado warnings had been issued."

[Zelpha]

Northern Virginia has a tornado warning right now!

[cdmurphy]

Originally Posted by dkf747

Interesting sentence in that link:

"All the fatalities occurred within the areas where tornado watches and eventually tornado warnings had been issued."

That's what concerns me about tornadoes in NoVA. People who have lived here for a while may not have experienced them directly, because weather patterns in the DC Metro area are extremely variable, and can change so quickly during a storm. You may not have personally experienced a tornado, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't happen here. Then, people that move to NoVA from places that have more tornadoes may tend to take our watches/warnings less seriously (and I do know there's a difference in both quantity and quality, having grown up in both Atlanta and Kansas City, but that doesn't mean you should ignore them), and people that move here from non-tornado-y places may not pick up enough on our watches/warnings (because we don't have tornado sirens that blare in the streets) and not know what to do if there is a warning.

I advise people to:
- enable Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) on their phones. It's like a text, but is pushed directly from your wireless carrier. These are sent based on your phone's location and do not include watches, just warnings.National Weather Service sends out both extreme alerts (tornado warning, typhoon warning, tsunami warning, extreme winds warning, hurricane warning) and severe alerts (flash flood warning and dust storm warning). You can opt out of severe alerts if you just want extreme alerts.

- touch base with Ready Virginia - they have an app that will help you make an emergency plan, send an "I'm Safe" message to your emergency contacts, etc. If you have never lived in a place that has tornadoes or hurricanes, find out the basics of what to do if there is a warning.

- sign up for your county/city's emergency alerts. I posted a list in another thread several years ago, but it looks like some might be out of date. Here they are again, with updated links:

Arlington County - Arlington Alerts Emergency
Fairfax County - Fairfax Alerts*- Fairfax County, Virginia
City of Alexandria - http://enews.alexandriava.gov
City of Falls Church - http://alert.fallschurchva.gov
City of Fairfax - City of Fairfax, VA : Fairfax City Alert
Loudoun County - Loudoun County, VA - Official Website - Alert Loudoun
Prince William County - http://www.pwcgov.org/pwcan
City of Manassas - Manassas, VA - Official Site - ALERT City of Manassas
Fauquier County - http://ealert.fauquiercounty.gov/
Stafford County - Stafford Alert

I'm not saying anyone needs to go all doomsday-prepper, but at the bare minimum acknowledge what types of emergency situations can happen here, and how to get information about those emergency situations when they do happen. And know the difference between a "watch" and a "warning".

[Middlin]

My son was in daycare in 2004 basically at the corner of 28/29. I still remember parents/teachers standing outside and we could clearly see the tornado before rushing inside to an interior room. Truly frightening.

[cdmurphy]

Add one to this year's list... tornado caused damage last Saturday (6/20) in Bristow and Manassas