ROCKINGHAM COUNTY — The tornado that rumbled through Reidsville, Ruffin and Williamsburg townships on April 15 has been upgraded by the National Weather Service to an EF-2 event.
Weather officials in Blacksburg, Virginia announced the change in a public information statement just before noon on Wednesday.
Officials originally announced Monday night that the tornado ripped through 17.6 miles of Rockingham County at a maximum speed of 110 mph, which is the fastest a twister can travel in the EF-1 range.
On Wednesday, they increased the storm’s max speed to 125 mph, which is 10 mph away from the max range of an EF-2.
Meteorologist Patrick Wilson said NWS Blacksburg was on the borderline with its preliminary reading Monday and that officials consulted NWS headquarters about a potential increase.
“We showed them the pictures and after consulting with them, they felt it was worth it to bump it up,” Wilson said.
The Enhanced Fujita scale rates tornado intensity into six categories, based on the damage caused at maximum speeds.
EF-1 ranked tornadoes are considered weak on the scale and can reach speeds from 86-110 mph.
EF-2 funnel clouds are considered strong in the speed spectrum and have a maximum threshold of 135 mph.
The highest rated tornado, an EF-5, is considered violent, with wind speeds greater than 200 mph.
“The more significant the damage, the more higher wind speeds and whatever ends up being the highest out of the entire tornado tract, ends up being the rating,” Wilson said. “Obviously, it was not EF-2 the entire way. Most of the time it was probably EF-1, but we go by the peak and there was an area where it got up to that level.”
The tornado, which held a nearly continuous path, entered the county at 5:25 p.m. on April 15 along Chrismon Road – approximately one mile southeast of the Haw River.
The tornado ripped a 225-yard wide path at its maximum and moved rapidly to the north-northeast.
The twister crossed over N.C. 87 just 5 miles southeast of Reidsville, before crashing down on residents east of downtown, in the area of Grooms Road and Brooks Road.
After causing its most significant damage, the storm progressed northeast, crossing U.S. 158 before moving through the east side of Ruffin, lifting four miles north-northeast between Dibrell Road and Bradley Road at 5:46 p.m.
by Joe Dexter (2018, April 20) Rockingham Now
