A rare midwinter EF-1 tornado uprooted trees and destroyed a carport during its two-minute existence on Jan. 12, in northern Amelia County, Virginia. Amelia County was last hit by a tornado in 2013. According to officials of the National Weather Service, the damage along the 0.4 mile (0.6 kilometer) path was evidence of 95 mph (150 kph) winds. This anomalous tornado is the country’s first tornado of 2018.
It has now been officialized! The first tornado of 2018 hit Amelia County, Virginia on January 12, 2018:
The storm’s unlikely appearance is attributed to that day’s unusual warmth and shearing wind in the lower atmosphere.
Here some videos showing the damage after the tornado:
As explained by LiveStormsMedia:’You won’t get traditional velocity couplets or gate to gate signatures with bows/qlcs segments. A lot of times, tornadoes go undected in the line. They are usually brief, lasting no more than 5 seconds. Most of the damage I captured was straight line wind except for the 49/Modest Creek Rd intersection. Quarter mile South of the intersection on the west side of the road there’s a path of trees that appeared to have the tops cut. Path length is 100yrds and 50yrds wide. The second video shows it nicely:‘
January is tied with November as the second-lowest month for tornado activity in Virginia. On average, Virginia experiences only 19 tornadoes in a given year.
