Tornado Confirmed EF-1 In Ranson WV On Monday May 3

The National Weather Service has completed their survey of the storm damage from Monday and determined that tornado did indeed touch the ground for just under 2 miles in Ranson, WV. This was the storm cell that prompted numerous tornado warnings over an 80 miles stretch for 4 hours through Baltimore County MD.

Many other reports of wind and tree damage were in the path as seen here. The complete NWS Tornado report is below.

Storm Reports

…NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR 05/03/21 TORNADO IN RANSON WV…

RATING: EF-1

ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 90 MPH

PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 1.8 MILES

PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 125 YARDS

FATALITIES: 0

INJURIES: 1

START DATE: MAY 3, 2021

START TIME: 6:27 PM EDT

START LOCATION: RANSON WV

START LAT/LON: 39.3108 / -77.8655

END DATE: MAY 3, 2021

END TIME: 6:32 PM EDT

END LOCATION: RANSON WV

END LAT/LON: 39.3134 / -77.8318

Doppler Radar Snapshot

This was the Hook Echo over Ranson, just north of Charles Town.

NWS NARRATIVE (in all CAPS)

A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN RANSON WEST VIRGINIA IN THE COMMUNITY

ALONG ROBELEI DRIVE JUST WEST OF WEST VIRGINIA ROUTE 115/MILDRED

STREET. THE SOUTHERNMOST HOMES IN THIS COMMUNITY WERE AFFECTED

WITH MINOR SIDING AND SHINGLE DAMAGE. ONE HOMEOWNER WITH A

PERSONAL HOME ANEMOMETER MEASURED AN UNOFFICIAL 68MPH WIND GUST.

THE LAST TWO PROPERTIES, THOSE CLOSEST TO 115, HAD THE MOST

SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. ONE OUTDOOR SHED WAS BLOWN FROM ITS

FOUNDATION, AND ANOTHER SHED WAS SHIFTED FROM ITS FOUNDATION. THE

TRAILER SECTION OF A TRACTOR TRAILER WAS PUSHED A FEW FEET

LATERALLY, AND THEN PUSHED OVER ONTO ROUTE 115. THE TRAILER WAS

BEING USED FOR STORAGE. LEAF SPATTER WAS NOTED ON THE HOMES, AND

INSULATION AND CARDBOARD WAS LOFTED INTO THE POWER LINES ALONG THE

ROAD. THE MOST SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE WAS FROM A WEST WIND. HOWEVER

ONE PROPERTY HAD LAWN FURNITURE BLOWN IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.

SEVERAL LARGE TREE LIMBS WERE SNAPPED IN DIFFERING DIRECTIONS.

TWO SEPARATE RESIDENTS NOTED RECEIVING THE NWS TORNADO WARNING

OVER THEIR CELL PHONES BEFORE THE TORNADO HIT, ALLOWING TIME TO

SEEK SAFETY IN THEIR HOMES. THEY ALSO REPORTED SEEING THE TORNADO

MOVING INTO THE NEXT PROPERTIES ACROSS WV-115.

AS THE STORM CROSSED WV-115, SEVERAL LARGE BRANCHES WERE SNAPPED

OFF TREES IN FRONT OF TWO CROWS ANTIQUE MALL. WHILE MANY BRANCHES

WERE THROWN EAST, A LARGE ONE WAS ALSO THROWN TO THE NORTHWEST.

THE TORNADO THEN STRUCK A WAREHOUSE AT UNIVERSAL FOREST PRODUCTS

AND REACHED PEAK INTENSITY. ON THIS PROPERTY IT PUSHED OVER A

LARGE WAREHOUSE BUILDING THAT WAS PARTIALLY OPENED ALONG ITS

SIDES. THE MAIN BEAMS OF THE BUILDING WERE LARGE TIMBERS SECURED

TO THE GROUND WITH BOLTS. THE ROOF WAS TIN AND SECTIONS OF THAT

ROOF WERE CARRIED A HALF A MILE INTO AN ADJACENT COMMUNITY. PEOPLE

WERE IN THE BUILDING AT THE TIME, BUT FORTUNATELY THE ONLY INJURY

WAS A MINOR LEG ABRASION TO ONE PERSON. ANOTHER SMALLER WAREHOUSE

BUILDING WAS ALSO DESTROYED. IT ALSO CAUSED ROOF AND SIDING

DAMAGE TO AT LEAST TWO OTHER BUILDINGS ON THIS PROPERTY.

THE TORNADO WEAKENED SUBSTANTIALLY AS IT TRAVELED EAST FROM THE

WAREHOUSES. DEBRIS, BUT NOT SIGNIFICANT TREE DAMAGE WAS NOTED

ALONG FOAL STREET. SOME INTERMITTENT DAMAGE CONTINUED INTO THE

NEW FAIRFAX CROSSING COMMUNITY WHERE SOME MINOR SIDING AND SHINGLE

DAMAGE WAS NOTED AS WELL AS A FEW SMALL ORNAMENTAL TREES THAT

WERE DOWNED. SOME FINAL PIECES OF TIN ROOF WERE NOTED HERE AS

WELL.

THE TORNADO WAS WITNESSED TO THE SOUTH BY SOMEONE IN THE NEARBY

POTOMAC MARKETPLACE SHOPPING CENTER AS IT CROSSED WV ROUTE 9. FROM

THERE IT PASSED THROUGH MOBILE HOME COMMUNITIES ALONG GRAYROCK

ROAD AND CAMBRIDGE DRIVE CAUSING A FEW LARGE BRANCHES TO BE

SNAPPED AS WELL AS SOME ROOFING DAMAGE TO AT LEAST ONE MOBILE

HOME. THE TORNADO LIFTED BEFORE REACHING FLOWING ACRES ROAD.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE OFFICE OF

HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IN JEFFERSON COUNTY

WEST VIRGINIA, AS WELL AS OUR TRAINED SKYWARN SPOTTERS IN THE AREA

THAT PROVIDED INVALUABLE INFORMATION TO US VERY QUICKLY.

EF SCALE: THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES INTO THE

FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:

EF0………65 TO 85 MPH

EF1………86 TO 110 MPH

EF2………111 TO 135 MPH

EF3………136 TO 165 MPH

EF4………166 TO 200 MPH

EF5………>200 MPH

Sunshine State Of Mind

I am done with the cold and snow (for the season). I am embracing my wife’s mantra of Sunshine State of Mind.

This was designed by Shannon Berk and we will be wearing it through spring and to the beach.

Double Benefit: Proceeds will be split between our nonprofit Just In Power Kids and the development of my new weather website. That has been scheduled to be ready to launch in May.