What the record says
On 6 August 1993, a tornado touched down near Petersburg, Virginia. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 1 mile long and up to 250 yards wide, rated F4 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 4 people and injured 246.
- F4Fujita rating
- 4deaths
- 246injuries
- 1 mipath length
- 250 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 4 or 5 and it killed three or more people.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
- Charles City County, Virginia
- Chesterfield County, Virginia
- Dinwiddie County, Virginia
- Prince George County, Virginia
- Hopewell city, Virginia
- Petersburg city, Virginia
The start point was at 37.20, -77.43 and the end point at 37.32, -77.27 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in Virginia
- Charlottesville, Virginia tornado30 September 1959, F3, 11 deaths, 4 injuries, 0.8 miles long
- Abingdon, Virginia tornado27 April 2011, EF3, 3 deaths, 50 injuries, 19.6 miles long
- Waverly, Virginia tornado24 February 2016, EF1, 3 deaths, 8 injuries, 8.9 miles long
- Williamsburg, Virginia tornado16 April 2011, EF3, 2 deaths, 24 injuries, 26.5 miles long
- Ashland, Virginia tornado1 April 1998, F3, 2 deaths, 5 miles long
- Arlington, Virginia tornado5 September 1979, F3, 1 death, 6 injuries, 17.9 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1993
- Tulsa, Oklahoma tornado24 April 1993, F4, 7 deaths, 100 injuries, 5.5 miles long
- Grand Isle, Louisiana tornado8 April 1993, F2, 3 deaths, 39 injuries, 6 miles long
- Leesburg, Georgia tornado30 October 1993, F2, 3 deaths, 27 injuries, 5 miles long
- Chiefland, Florida tornado12 March 1993, F2, 3 deaths, 10 injuries, 1 mile long
- Dorrance, Kansas tornado7 May 1993, F4, 1 death, 6 injuries, 25.5 miles long
All tornadoes of 1993 · Virginia tornado history · All notable tornadoes