TOrnado Out Of Nowhere In Virginia Beach Tonight

[Nobody]

So here I was minding my own business, and I hear a huge gust of wind rattling the metal in my fireplace. Next thing I know, branches are snapping off my tree, my trashcans are flying around, and my neighbors gutters are slamming the side of my house.

There was absolutely no warning at all. I go outside, and my neighbor's tree (40 ft river birch) got ripped straight out of the ground, roots and all, and it's nowhere to be found.

I go up to the store to get a pack of cigarettes, and a bus depot down the street is completely obliterated, bricks strewn all over the place.

Nobody is hurt as far as I know right now, but it was a bad surprise. I will post pics in a little bit.

 

[Burgundy Burner]

It was straight line winds, not a tornado. Straight liners can be very dangerous though.

 

[Boone]

It's rocking and rolling again here in NC. Tornado watches and warnings, impressive lightning...not sure what's going on with the weather these days. I apparently live in the new tornado alley. Be safe everyone.

 

[Burgundy Burner]

Looks like those storms have passed through your area.

Got a horrible feeling that the death toll in Joplin will rise significantly.

 

[Nobody]

It was straight line winds, not a tornado. Straight liners can be very dangerous though.

Is that confirmed? I only ask, because I have experienced straight line winds a lot, and tornadoes only a few times, but this was worse than either that I've ever seen.

Ny non lives less than 5 miles from me, and there were 2 houses in her neighborhood that were completely leveled. I'm not saying you aren't right, I'm just wondering. I know radars and weathermen aren't always right, as I found out a few years back when I was looking at a tornado, taking pictures, and they said the NWS never confirmed a tornado. To me, that was proof that all their fancy instruments aren't as accurate as they think they are.

I didn't see one today, the rain was too heavy and the debris made visibility nonexistent during the peak of the storm, but I have never seen anything like this. I've never seen straightline winds lift full grown trees straight up into the sky, knock over trucks, and obliterate brick buildings.

I'm not saying you're wrong, please don't take it that way, I just do know radars aren't always right.

 

[Nobody]

 

[Burgundy Burner]

It's confirmed. Was watching the live radar at the time and there were no rotations, just bow echoes. Nothing on kamala either.

 

[Nobody]

Well, I can say it still sucked major ass.

 

[Burgundy Burner]

Of course it does - straight liners can do a lot of damage as you can plainly see. I see the pics and that screams "straight line winds" to me. These downbursts can reach incredible speeds and are very concentrated. Looks to me like these winds were around 90 mph or a bit more.

The good thing about Hampton Roads is the proximity to the ocean. It acts like a shield against strong twisters. The most you will ever see in that area is an EF-2 and that's a good thing. About every two years, you will see a storm like this on the southside.

 

[Nobody]

Of course it does - straight liners can do a lot of damage as you can plainly see. I see the pics and that screams "straight line winds" to me. These downbursts can reach incredible speeds and are very concentrated. Looks to me like these winds were around 90 mph or a bit more.

The good thing about Hampton Roads is the proximity to the ocean. It acts like a shield against strong twisters. The most you will ever see in that area is an EF-2 and that's a good thing. About every two years, you will see a storm like this on the southside.

You are pretty accurate on the winds. I'm an amateur weather nerd, and I have a weather station in my backyard that I've spent thousands of dollars and 15 years piecing together. The highest readings I got on my anemometer were 86 mph on the leading edge, and I'm a few miles from NAS Oceana just to give you an idea of where exactly I'm at.

About midway through the storm the wind reversed course and threw everything from the backyard to the front. We had a newspaper in a bag land in our back yard, and the address was from a street I didn't recognize. I googled it, and it was several streets away nearly a half mile from here. Craziest storm I've seen in probably 20 years, and I've seen some whoppers.

The one part of the storm I did enjoy? The 20+ degree temperature drop as it moved through