WINDSOR, Va. (WAVY) — A tornado touched down in Windsor Thursday night as strong storms came through eastern Virginia, damaging a church and other property.
The National Weather Service confirmed the EF-0 (a weak tornado with 65 to 85 mph winds) touched down just east of Route 258 around the unincorporated town of Walters and moved east/northeast and uprooted multiple trees near Ballard Road. It then crossed Ballard and destroyed a garage, knocked down a pole barn and damaged a roof of a house near Colosse Road.
The tornado kept moving east, roughly following Rhodes Drive, and blew off part of the roof at Colosse Baptist Church. It did some more tree damage before lifting just after crossing Spivey Town Road, the NWS says.
The path of the tornado was about 4 miles long in total, with a maximum width of 150 yards. It happened between about 9:27 p.m. and 9:31 p.m.
No injures were reported.
The strong winds peeled back the roof of Colosse Baptist Church, causing a lot of water damage inside.
Before the storm, the entrance had four pillars. Now, there’s only one left.
“That is what was shocking. I couldn’t believe those pillars were knocked out,” said Pastor Tim Webb. “It was just intense.”
Rhodes Drive was shut down Thursday night from Little Norfolk Road to Colosse Road. Power lines and trees were down in the area as well.
“The windows are broken in the kitchen, whole upstairs is leaking, the roof has just been blown back,” said homeowner Loretta Holmes-Brown.
She was inside her house when the storm came through.
“The whole house was just shaking and rumbling and it was like a roaring sound,” Holmes-Brown said.
Her husband had a close call. He went outside to secure lawn furniture that was blowing away, not realizing a tornado was nearby.
“He said siding was hitting him in the back and everything else,” Holmes-Brown said.
Despite the damage, people in the community say they’re grateful it wasn’t worse.
“We’re blessed that we have a good, strong community so we’re just hoping we can get all this behind us soon,” said Webb.
by Sarah Fearing, Kiahnna Patterson, Geena Arevalo (2021, Mar 18 | Updated 2021, Mar 19) WAVY
