NWS confirms EF2 tornado struck Northumberland County

NORTHUMBERLAND Co., Va. (WWBT) - The National Weather Service has officially confirmed a tornado was the source of storm damage reported in Northumberland County on Monday afternoon.

The National Weather Service said the EF2 tornado started in Callao and ended near Lewisetta, and was on the ground for five miles. The estimated maximum wind speeds are 115 to 120 mph.

There was no tornado warning for the storm but the NWS received a report of a funnel cloud sighted and damage to homes on Lewisetta Road and Chambers Lane.

The sheriff’s office and Northern Neck Electric Cooperative reported damage in the area of Lewisetta Road in Lottsburg on Monday.

Rummaging through debris, 65-year-old Neada Corbin has seen better days.

“You don’t want everybody to see you cry,” she said.

It began with a phone call.

“Henry called me and said ‘momma, where are you?’ He was all excited…He said ‘a tornado came through here.’ I said ‘really?’ He said, ‘uh, your house is gone.’ I said ‘you better stop playing. Don’t be saying that. Don’t say that.’ He said ‘mom, I’m not playing. Your house is gone.’ I said ‘oh, OK. My house is gone.’””

Corbin then phoned another relative. “I said ‘would you look out there to see if my house is there’…She called me back. She said, ‘yeah, your house is gone.’ I said ‘oh no’.”

Her home of 40 years was ripped from its foundation and scattered across a nearby field.

A neighbor’s home is one of about a dozen damaged in a tornado Monday afternoon. Trees are uprooted, others have snapped.

”This is just a cell that spun up with no warning…and we can’t believe it because we didn’t get any warnings,” Sheriff Johnny Beauchamp said.

The sheriff advised people to avoid Lewisetta Road, which bore the brunt of the damage.

Corbin is the only neighbor with no home still standing.

“I cried on my way home from Tappahannock,” Corbin said. She had gone there to visit the store. “I got myself together and it’s OK. I got all my friends here and you know, God has a plan and it’s OK.”

Although Corbin lost everything she owns inside the home, she has family and friends who will help her find a place to stay. As for this home, she says it can be rebuilt.

Northern Neck Electric Cooperative said hundreds of people were without power due to significant damage to the lines. All restorations have been made in the area.

The Virginia Department of Transportation worked to remove trees from roadways.

The Red Cross is assisting families impacted by the severe weather.

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