NWS confirms 3 tornadoes

WSLS News Staff
Published: May 10, 2008

Updated Saturday 3:20 p.m.

The National Weather Service now confirms a third tornado touched down Thursday night.  This one hit around 11:45 p.m. Thursday in Appomattox County.  The location is approximately two miles west of the Town of Hixburg.  The tornado is rated EF1 with winds of 85 to 95 miles per hour.

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The National Weather Service has confirmed a second tornado touched down in our area.
The EF-1 Tornado hit just after nine last night along Gretna Road and Highway 40 in Pittsylvania County.
It knocked down several trees and damaged some homes in the area.
The National Weather Service says the survey is still in progress.

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The National Weather Service confirms at least one tornado touched down in Franklin County and Henry County Thursday night.  Preliminary estimates rank it as an EF-1.

NWS investigators on the scene in Franklin County told 10 On Your Side’s Lindsey Henley that they estimated wind speeds at 75-95 MPH.  They have since changed that estimate to 86-95 MPH.  NWS investigators estimate the tornado was on the ground at 8:00 p.m., went one mile, and was 75 yards wide.

The tornado damaged four homes in both counties, and downed numerous trees.

Pictures below by WSLS photojournalist Greg Moore:

Clock blown from home at time tornado hit.  Clock stopped on 8:00 p.m.

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Nearly our entire viewing area is cleaning up after Thursday night’s severe storms.

Trees are down, and some homes were blown off of their foundations in Franklin County.

Areas from the New River Valley to Southside, and Smith Mountain Lake saw hail, heavy rains, and fierce winds.

National weather service investigators are checking out multiple reports of tornadoes touching down in Patrick County, Henry County, Franklin County, and Pittsylvania County.

We have multiple crews out covering the damage.

We’ll bring you team coverage on the storm damage and clean-up tonight on WSLS at 5:00 p.m., 5:30 p.m., and 6:00 p.m.