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Florence sparks historic tornado outbreak in Virginia

florence-sparks-historic-tornado-outbreak-in-virginia

Tropical Cyclone "Florence" spawned multiple tornadoes near Richmond, Virginia on September 17, 2018, killing one person and injuring another. This brought the death toll caused by Florence to at least 32. Local media is describing the outbreak as historic.

Virginia Department of Emergency Management spokesman Jeff Caldwell said the department was tracking at least seven potential tornadoes in the Richmond area, adding that the tornadoes still need to be confirmed by the National Weather Service.

Twenty-eight tornado warnings were issued Monday by the National Weather Service office in Wakefield, Virginia and at least 13  were reported, according to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. 

"In my 11 years here, as the chief meteorologist at CBS 6, nothing really compares,” said chief meteorologist Zach Daniel.

One of the tornadoes, rated EF-0, touched down around 10:30 EDT  in Mecklenburg County, the southern part of the state near the border with North Carolina. There were no reports of injuries, but the tornado damaged two homes and a trailer. It traveled 14 km (9 miles), from Boydton to Chase.

Another one touched down around 15:27 EDT in Chesterfield County (Richmond), causing a building at Hull Street Road and Speeks Drive to collapse. This tornado killed one person and injured another. Multiple vehicles also overturned in the area.

The second person was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Dominion Energy reported 6 000 customers in the Richmond area were without power due to Monday's storm.

Featured image courtesy John Guth

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