Tornado strikes Dinwiddie – Progress Index

Storm leaves significant property damage in its wake

McKENNEY A tornado that ripped through southern Dinwiddie County early Friday morning left hundreds of trees downed and cut a swath of property damage ranging from shattered windows to collapsed barns throughout the area.

First it was the roar of the wind and then you heard the sounds of the trees crashing down, said George Marshall, whose home sits squarely in the tornados apparent path along Baskerville Mill Road near its intersection with Route 40 just west of McKenney.

As of 1 p.m. Friday, no injuries had been reported, McKenney Fire Chief Ryan Townsend confirmed.

Marshall and his wife Emily were already awake when the storm swept through the area just before 7 a.m. on May 5.

We knew something was brewing, he said. But by the time the couple received the tornado alert, it was too late: not a minute after, Marshall said, the storm was upon them.

It sounded like the old proverbial freight train without the clacking, he said. Ive never actually heard it before.

Without a basement, the couple took shelter with their two dogs in the only place in their home that didnt have an exterior window: a closet.

If wed had more warning, we would have left here, said Marshall. But, he added, there wasnt enough warning.

Just before 1 p.m. Friday, the National Weather Service confirmed that the damage seen in the area was consistent with an EF-1 tornado, a classification applied to tornadoes whose winds range between 86 and 110 mph. The weather service also reported damage from straight-line winds.

On the ground, a path of destruction and debris could be traced down Baskerville Mill Road and Old White Oak Road near their intersections with Route 40, as well as for several miles along Lew Jones Road. Hundreds of trees were uprooted or snapped off midway up the trunk, and downed power lines were tangled for more than a mile in the fallen branches and damaged fences that edged the road.

Weve got a lot of wire to put back up, said Dave Breeden, an electrical worker with C. W. Wright, a company hired by Dominion Virginia Power to repair the lines in the area. Well be out here after dark.

Numerous buildings also showed the impacts of the storm. A barn at the site of the former Roberts Feed Center collapsed entirely, as did a small shed on the property. Portions of multiple structures' roofs were torn off and scattered throughout fields, with one twisted piece found wrapped around a tree roughly a quarter mile from any buildings. The Marshalls home suffered several broken windows, roof damage where a tree struck the building and other problems such as a wrenched-off railing, while a utility trailer that had been anchored near their garage was flung about 30 feet away.

Its just remarkable that some of these people didnt lose their home, said Dinwiddie Extension Agent Mike Parrish.

Although McKenney suffered the worst damage Friday morning, storms affected the entire Petersburg-Richmond metropolitan area, producing more than 4,000 power outages.

School buses were delayed in some areas, and in Chesterfield, tornado warnings led officials at several secondary schools to invoke shelter in place protocols as a precaution. The heavy rain also led Prince George and Colonial Heights to cancel baseball and softball games scheduled for Friday night.

The timing of the storms also significantly snarled morning commutes. A tractor-trailer crash on the northbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Prince George County backed traffic up around Exit 41 about a mile and a half. Fallen trees blocked Cox Road, Namozine Road and Vaughan Road in Dinwiddie, while flooding impaired roads in Chesterfield, Dinwiddie and Prince George.

In McKenney, cleanup efforts were in full swing by late morning, with dozens of electrical workers, tree-cutting workers and emergency responders on site.

Several of those affected expressed amazement that while the storm wreaked such havoc on property, it left the population unharmed.

Weve had three of these, but this is by far the worst Ive seen, said Nicholas Howerton, the grandson of the collapsed barns owners.

George Marshall voiced similar feelings.

Ive been through hurricanes, Ive been through typhoons in Southeast Asia, but never anything quite like this, he said.

Staff writer Michael Buettner contributed to this report. Sarah Vogelsong may be reached at svogelsong@progress-index.com or 804-722-5154.

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Tornado strikes Dinwiddie - Progress Index